Shingeki no Dragon
by lir100
Summary: The People of Berk has always been strong; In the War of the Red Death, the time of the First Dragon Riders, and as Berk grows into the heart of the Viking World, their strength keeps growing. But strength has always invited challenge... As the threat of the nation Titania now looms over the thriving city, can the 104th Cadets rise to the challenge and defend Berk? Or will it fall?
1. Chapter 1- The History of the Berk

Shingeki no Dragon

The People of Berk has always been strong. In what would be known by history as the War of the Red Death, they had survived generations of attacks by seemingly cruel dragons, killing them as they had to when attacked. To them, it was an endless cycle of fighting for survival, never knowing which home they'd find no more than a patch of scorched earth, never knowing who's body they'd find in the morning light. But this was not the only way. After one young man, no more than a boy, was able to become the bridge between the worlds of Dragon and Men, training and befriending supposedly the most dangerous of them all, the mythical and feared Night Fury. But this was not without consequence, after some hardship, the people of Berk were able to accept Dragon's into their lives after their tyrannical Queen, the Red Death who had forced the dragons to attack was slain by Hiccup Haddock, the first Dragon Rider.

After much turmoil, the people of Berk were able to find peace, even after Chief Stoick the Vast sacrificed himself to save his son, who would eventually bring his father's killer to justice; the egomaniacal, dragon enslaving warlord Drago. And stop him, he did. Eventually, Hiccup Haddock Horrendous III, accepted the new title of Chief.

Under his guidance and leadership, Berk has prospered, growing and growing to the size of a metropolis. However, even with this light growing stronger everyday under the First Dragon Rider's wise and caring hand, there are still major threats from the Dragon Hunters who now stand aside a shrouded opposing south-western nation known as Titania. Little is known of Titania, only its name and its hatred for Vikings and Dragons. As soon as one leaves the safety of Berk's allied waters, stretching around such lands as Bezerker's Island and The Island Defenders of the Wing, the only protection you have are the blades in your hand, the armour on your chest and a prayer to the Gods in your throat.

As such, civilians don't tend to leave them. But there is one group who are always willing to fight outside the safety of the shores of Berk for its safety. Fighters. Defenders. Soldiers.

The Wings of Freedom.

They are the eyes, ears, and spearheads of the army of Berk; Berk's torch in the darkness.

They are one of three branches of Berk's military. The others being the Shields of Heimdall, the walls, battlements and armour of Berk; The Guardians of the Three Walls of Berk. Then came the Scales of Forseti, the keepers of peace, truth and justice inside the walls; The law bringers of society and bane of criminals that hide like rats throughout the walls. All of these filled with soldiers from throughout the lands of the walls and beyond, each volunteering for the sake of all in Berk. They are trained for three years in camps throughout the city and it's outlying districts.

Each and every solider is trained in brutal conditions, by both their superiors, the unforgiving programmes designed by the late Drillmaster Belch and the elements themselves as they trained their skills and knowledge that they may survive outside of the Walls. They begin their gruelling training to in the sparring rings, learning the ancient art of the Dual Axe, enough to rival the famed Masked Swordsmen of the East and even defeat the infamous Barbarians of the Northern Tundras in tournament. Once they have become one with the Axes, they are granted the option of training in another weapon, yet many remained steadfast with their simple, yet ruthlessly effective axes as if they were extensions of their own body.

However, once they have fully decided on their weapon, they are taught to thrive and excel, not on the ground, nor yet on the back of a dragon, but through the usage of Dragon Fire Mobility Gear (Or just Dragon Fire Gear when mentioned in passing by most); A new mechanism designed to refine the possibilities of human agility through waist mounted suspension cables and pressurised Hideous Zipback Gas; And when mastered by the cadets, it transforms them into what to a bystander would see nought else but the hawks of the skies, bats of the caves or even dragons of the mountains. Throughout all of this time, they learn of the history, capacities and unique features of all known dragons eventually passing exams designed by the First Head of the Learning Halls, High Professor Ingerman himself.

Then, and only then may they learn to ride a dragon. This is arguably the most difficult part of their training as they must find not only a mount, but a strongest ally on the battlefield and an even stronger ally still off of it. For a great many, this is simpler as they have already grown a bond with a hatched dragon over the years, even if they haven't yet been taught to fly. However, for a great many more, they must venture outside the safety of the walls, and have even been known to venture out of Berk's waters, to find their draconic counterpart. It is a standard that there are two compulsory weeks in cadets must search for dragons, if they find one within that time before the deadline, they may take the time off as paid authorised leave. However, if they exceed that time, they must have either already gotten consent and confirmation from the higher ups at the beginning (IE Due to travel time and distance) or they must give notice as soon as they can.

After the bond between a dragon and a rider has been established, they enter one of the three flight schools as each Military Unit demands varying techniques and Skills. Foresti Flight School is led by Flightmaster Jorgenson, Heimdall Flight School by Flightmaster Hofferman and the Freedom Flight school is now led by Flightmaster Smith after Flightmaster Haddock was granted the title Chief. Whilst Flightmasters Hofferman and Jorgenson both still serve the Military, they tend not to go on exhibitions with Flightmaster Smith as their duty is to protecting the people of Berk, first and foremost.

This year, the 104th Berkian Cadet Corps have all been certified in all areas to become soldiers, and after an attempted attack on the western settlements of Berk, and as such, their training grounds, most who initially sought to guard the walls and the peace of Berk when they enlisted, felt a burning fire within themselves, that roared the collective rage of the Vikings to strike back against those who had dared to attack their home. This is their story.


	2. Chapter 2 - Born of Blood

Chapter 2 – Eren Jaeger (Arc 1)

Eren Jaeger. The boy who wanted to explore. The boy who wanted freedom. The boy of the Iron Will. This is the tale of Eren Jaeger.

* * *

Eren Jaeger grew up in one of the outer districts of the Berkian Wall, called Shiganshina. He lived a somewhat poorer life, but still a good one, living with his mother and his father, who tended to be off helping people the people of their poorer city as it's healer. He still remembers his mother sitting him down next to their small, smouldering fire pit and softly telling them the story of how they met.

Many years ago, at the traditional Snoggletog festival in the Great Hall, a large batch of the ale distributed had been poisoned by Hunters, and Grisha happened to be sober at the feast and was able to heal near every single person who was affected; including the Chief's son himself who happened to be attending, leading to the Chief offering them a grander home in the interior, to which Grisha declined, stating that his duty was to healing his people. Upon hearing this, the Chief understood and fostered a great respect for the man's commitment, making a mental note to keep an eye on Jaeger. Whilst Grisha was happy that he had helped the chief, he was even happier when he talked one of the people he had healed; a pretty woman with green eyes and black hair who would one day become his wife; Carla.

Having two loving parents was a healthy environment for the child growing up; However, Eren was an angered child, not at his parents, whom he loved, nor his quality of life, which he enjoyed, but at the way that the world in which he lived worked.

He was angry at the fact that they couldn't live a truly peaceful life because some hateful people in some far away land didn't like them. Instead of being free and exploring the world without fear, them having to build walls around themselves, like cows in a pen. It made no damn sense to him at all and he hated it.

As a result, it was somewhat difficult for him to be social and friendly with all the other children, who he often scared off by accident, just by being his passionate self when he talked about the outside world. But whilst he didn't have many friends, he did have Armin Artlet, a young blond boy he found in the streets collecting bugs one day, who's mind was fascinating and he wanted to see the world just as much as Eren. Their friendship grew and blossomed as they became friends for the rest of their days.

It would be a while until Eren met the next important person in his life when his father had taken him to meet one of their family friends, the Ackerman's.

* * *

The Ackerman clan had met the Jaegers when they first arrived from the East as they helped them get settled into the Viking way of life, with Grisha always giving care when needed to the family he had come to call his close friends.

However, when they got to the house, blood painting the house's halls like the battlefields of Grisha's past, he reached desperately to cover his son's eyes, to stop his son from having to see the things that still haunted his dreams night after night. But it was too late. Realising they had stumbled across the homicide of the Ackerman family and the kidnap of Mikasa Ackerman. Eren felt something that was new to him, like a fresh drug, pulsing through a Bezerker's veins.

Pure. Rage.

Remained uncharacteristically calm and still when his Father explained that he was to wait in the nearby house and that he was going to get help. As soon as his father had left, Eren stepped into the house, his shoes' soles now coated in blood, feeling every drop of pain as if it was his own, looking around the home, he saw mounted on the wall a small ceremonial axe. Plucking it from the wall as one would a flower from the ground, he let his feet guide him to follow the path of the carriage's wheels, small patches of blood here and there outlining the lonely road which he now walked on as he subconsciously softly swung the axe experimentally.

As he reached a cabin higher in the mountain, the trail ended and he knew. A new bloodbath was about to be filled. He hid the axe behind his back as he knocked softly on the door and drew on a mask of innocence and worry. When the gruff bald man opened the door he was confused shocked and dare he say concerned that this child was all the way out here alone in the woods? He quickly turned to call out his partner, his lungs filling with air that was then to be pushed out to make the request but they were cut short by the curved blade of an axe embedded into the meat of his neck, his now bleeding form turned to the child, air being forced from his body, the life leaving his eyes, all he could see in the once innocent child was now rage and not a speck of forgiveness.

The child stepped over the corpse, the axe still in hand, he stalked through the corridor like a silent wolf, with each step, his heart growing colder than the last. Until he finally reached the room at the end form which he heard the crackling of a fire. Driving his axe into the lock, it quickly snapped open and before it could be registered, he had rushed upon the Hunter like an animal, burying the hatchet deep within his chest, screaming his rage.

As he retracted the now warm axe from the mangled chest of the corpse, quickly wiping it off before moving to free the girl from her bonds, explaining who he was and that he was here to help. He thought he heard her whisper something but it wasn't able to process what he heard in time as he felt the heavy presence enter the room, swinging the blade instinctively, it wasn't until the iron vice grip was around his throat that he felt the pain from his now broken wrist.

Eyes wildly scanning for some path to freedom, he saw the girl and he realised that she was trapped in her own head, just like he was trapped by the grip of the man before him, so he screamed the only words that filled his head at her to break her out of her shell,

"Fight!" He cried out "Defy! You have to fight! You die, you lose; you win, you live and you can only win if you fight!".

He saw something in her eyes but couldn't focus on it, feeling the air being crushed from his lungs. As his vision began to fade, he saw the light fade from his attacker's eyes, the thick and heavy crunch of steel cutting through flesh and into bone resonating through his body, and then it was silent and black as his body dropped to the floor…

* * *

When he awoke, his father had arrived with a unit of Scales now sweeping the area, taking them outside of the house of horror. Realising that she had nowhere else to go, Eren turned to his father, in a hoarse broken whisper asked if she could live with them. And so she did, and as a reminder that he would always be with her, he gave her the red scarf that he was wearing, not to mention she was shaking so much she would've frozen without one.

After his incident at the Ackerman household and introducing Mikasa to Armin, Eren's hatred of the Dragon Hunters grew stronger than a Bewilderbeast in his heart; As such, when he reached training age, he decided to enlist in Berk's military, dreaming of fighting in the Wings of Freedom, much to the dismay of his parents who pleaded with him to give up the violent dream. However, Mikasa swore to take care of Eren in the military, following him wherever he goes.

Knowing that this was a battle of wills, and theirs's was no match for the combined strength of Mikasa and their son, they let them go, with tears in their eyes and anxiety in their hearts. But hidden amongst the sea of fear in their minds, there was a drop of hope; that their son could finally live his dream and see the world and maybe, just maybe, make it a better place.


	3. Chapter 3 - Trained in dirt

Chapter 3 – Eren Jaeger (Arc 2)

As Eren began his training, he made his way onto Drillmaster Shadis' radar as he had a burning desire that he'd never seen before; but it was sloppy. Animalistic. unrefined. And frankly, dangerous. When he was in the training ring, he often found himself being locked in the memories of his past, his brain forcing his body to react with apt aggression. He was pulled up and ordered to control his anger or leave the military. The thought of being sent back, the thought of not being good enough, the thought of being discharged made him physically wretch.

Desperate to stay in training to be a soldier, he asked Mikasa to help him in refining his technique so that he'd have something to focus on when he was fighting. She eventually agreed, even if it meant that a chance that he would be safe at home would be lost. But, she supposed, this was his dream, and she couldn't hold him back from it. Deciding to take a gentler approach, she quietly asked Armin to help him with controlling himself and his thoughts, asking him to show Eren the meditation that she always saw the blond doing after training and in the mornings when he woke up, who then agreed to help.

He was sure to be gentle when it came to introducing it to Eren, starting slowly with small breathing practices and then growing until he could show Eren proper meditation. Eren had always thought it was like praying to the Gods but Armin explained that it was different, more about finding the fate of oneself in oneself.

After training with Mikasa and Armin for a few months, he had been taken off of watch by Shadis, having shown that he had gotten control of himself; But Eren still felt like he was lacking in a more aggressive instructor so he decided to get the aid of one of the higher ranked cadets (Apart from Mikasa) who wouldn't mind being more brutal; in their training. So when he saw Armin talking to that Leonhardt girl, he asked Armin to check with her and when he told Eren that she had agreed, his heart and determination leapt in joy; His muscles and bones, soon to be covered in bruises and tears, would say otherwise.

After many beatings in the combat hall and arena, and many more weeks of learning to control himself in and out of the battlefield, he began to excel at hand to hand combat quickly rising to the second in his class, maintaining the traditional dual axes, becoming quite proficient and in the few times when he was knocked down, he was always dragging himself back onto his feet asking for round two. Whilst his strength of will was admirable, it definitely did cause him to be somewhat arrogant and reckless, getting into fights and arguments, as can be attested by one Jean Kirstein, who was currently sat in the healing bay for a bruise to the face which he had gotten in response from Eren to a comment he had made about his dreams.

* * *

In his second year, on the first day of Dragon Fire gear training, he had ended up in a somewhat embarrassing situation, he thought, as his hair brushed against the dusty floor as he hung from the suspension rig in the training fields. Feeling the judging eyes of the cadets all around him, he felt his face redden in embarrassment as he wrapped his hands around the cords to pull himself up, before feeling two calloused hands grip his abdomen,

Oh no, he thought, she seriously can't be doing thi-

Mikasa had grabbed the boy and pulled him upright, his face growing redder and redder by the second, before bursting into anger, yelling at her as her face contorted into confusion in response. Seeing her in confusion, Jean stepped up to Eren, throwing his fist into the other boy's face, shouting at him, causing Eren to once more lose his balance; moments before he hit the ground, Mikasa grabbed him once more, saving him from a concussion, and as she pulled him upright, anticipating Eren's anger once more, she quickly turned to him, chilling her stare and putting a finger to her lips. Turning on her heel to her 'Viking in shining armour', she saw the boy's eyes light up in excitement before narrowing in fear as her fist went into her face, leading to the boy going into the healing centre once more.

As Mikasa was escorted to the punishment field, where she would be forced to work for hours on end, Eren was gripped by the shoulder and when he turned he saw none other than Drillmaster Shadis, who's eyes scoured over the boy like a hawk; Moments before he grabbed the boy's harness, staring at the latch. Tsking at the sight, he then ordered another solider, Wagner to swap harnesses with the recruit.

As the new, unfamiliar leather, coarsely rubbed against his sin through his tunic, stepping up into the suspension rig once more. As the wires lifted him, his feet leaving solid ground, all of his core muscles tensed, causing his mind to panic at the unfamiliar sensation and retreat back into itself before remembering his first meditation session with Armin; The emerald trees fluttering in the strong wind as the vibrant sun fell down on them through the sapphire sky. Looking out over the shimmering water, and then into the same coloured eyes of the boy next to him before feeling an odd sense of calmness enter him.

Returning to his current situation, he accepted the sensations that rippled through his body, allowing his body and his mind to work together with the machinery; He realised that he was finally balanced. Looking up, he saw Shadis staring disapprovingly at the ground, in the direction of the now understandably broken harness.

Feeling a boost of confidence, he began to improve with the gear, eventually being able to pass both of his certifications, now reaching the final stage; Dragon Riding Academy.


	4. Chapter 4 - Lost at sea

Chapter 4 – Eren A3

When it finally came time to find a dragon, he, along with all of the other cadets in the 104th, had been advised to try to stay in Berk's safe waters. To Eren, this seemed a restraining order to giver as he had originally wanted to try and tame one from the wastelands, figuring that it would show people like Mikasa that he was strong enough on his own.

However, after discussing with other cadets over dinner, lumpy lukewarm soup and a scrap of bread, that this was an overwhelmingly bad idea, then choosing to make course for one of the smaller islands, maybe near the Island of the Defenders of the Wing to explore and try to find a dragon.

Whilst hesaw this as being safer, Mikasa was still very much troubled about it, her wrists minutely shaking, just enough for her nervous energy to go somewhere but not enough for people to notice. Feeling an intense wave of anxiety wash over her, she wanted to go with him and the very second the words left her mouth, Eren began exploding with so much pent up frustration at her as he explained that this was something that he needed to do alone.

It was a fierce conversation. Mikasa trying to get it through to Eren that she couldn't lose him, her family all over again and Eren returning that she can't keep him on a leash for his own protection forever, just like the Walls did. Hearing this, Mikasa began to understand what Eren meant, and as much as she hated it, she eventually agreed. After packing his kit and letting Mikasa pack extra, he walked down the rickety dock to a small dingy that he had rented. As he stood by his boat, he hugged Mikasa, apologising for his outburst, to which she silently tensed up as a result from before simply telling him to be safe and come back alive. As he set off the boat from shore, he was hopeful that he'd be able to do this alone and in a way, the Gods were with him on that.

But, evidently, they wanted to make sure he could be strong enough on his own as well. For what other explanation could there be for the unexpected storm that ended up diverting Eren wildly off course? Grappling with rope and wood, he able to keep it afloat but was knocked out in the process his head smashing into the side of the boat after a particularly strong wave hit the boat on his way out of the stormy patch.

* * *

As his eyes cracked open and he saw the sun, lofty in its castle in the sky, he felt them cry out in irritation to the sudden change from the encompassing darkness. Feeling the stiffness in his muscles, he realised he must have been out for a long time before trying to loosen them by getting up; only to be brought to his knees once more by the pain in his leg; looking down at it, he saw that it was uninjured physically, still intact and all so that a was a start he supposed. But from how much pain was stemming from it, he knew that he must have pulled a muscle or something.

Lifting himself deftly off the deck, keeping pressure off his leg, he quickly set about trying to figure out exactly how long he was out and knowing that he hadn't reached an island yet, how far off course he was. Remembering the boring classroom sessions he'd never really pay attention to, the image of Teacher Hannes drawing a rough sketch of a ships hull

After setting up his meagre camp of a small dwindling fire, a small tent and hiss survival pack and firing a distress signal flare, he had decided to explore the island. It wasn't a particularly large island, but something felt strange about, the rock formations looked weird; if he ever found his way back, he'd have to check about this with Armin.

He travelled among the coastline, finding a river and following it upstream and eventually finding a small tunnel which when he stepped down into with his makeshift torch led to a spacious, near ceremonially carved cavern in which he found a shell of purple amber placed nearly religiously upon a flat stone.

Feeling hesitant but somewhat called to it, he stepped forward gingerly until he could look into the large crystalline and seeing within it none other than the onyx sleek hide of the near extinct Night Fury.

* * *

Returning to his camp he set about trying to figure out what he should do; He'd have to let the people of Berk know, maybe he could even tell the Chief, that'd make a name for hims-

Cutting his thoughts short, he realised that he'd firstly either need to make himself found on the island which was unlikely seeing as he had no idea where he was; Or, bring the dragon to them. Deciding on the latter, he began experimentally making a somewhat crude extraction kit from his survival sack. Utilising lessons from his training, Eren was successfully able to extract the amber from the cavern and up the tunnel. Whilst he could not carry it (Mikasa probably would've lifted it one handed he thought) he had been able to use his Dragon Fire Gear to drag it with the assistance of some logs.

As the light surrounded him as he finally reached the mouth of the tunnel, he felt the gear around his waist sputter and whir as he realised he had next to no gas left in his canisters, making a mental note to try and refill them when he got back to camp. Detaching his hooks from the rock, he took a step back and looked over the crystal once more, trying to figure out a way to bring it down the mountain. Looking back at the logs, an idea flew through his mind as he found himself detaching the wires from his gear, lashing them around the wood to form a makeshift raft that he then eased the amber onto. Stepping into the cold water that pushed against his leg, he guided it down the bending arcs of the river, forcing himself to ignore the chill that spread through his legs as struggled on.

Eventually, he managed to get it down near the coastline; Not wanting to lose it in the vastness of the ocean, Eren made a swift halting grab at the wood, pulling against the call of the ocean as he dragged it to bank. Knowing that he now had no gas to pull it left, he set about unlashing the logs and began using them as a crude wheel system; just like he'd been taught by Armin when the boy had found him trying to carry a rather large rock and thank Thor that he had, otherwise he probably would've been crushed by it.

Finally reaching the edge of his campsite, Eren slowly shifted the rock onto the soft sand before him. After making sure that it was safe, he walked over to his camp, too tired from the journey to even set up a fire, and threw himself onto the yak fur sleeping bag that he had packed before promptly falling asleep.

* * *

For Eren, it was a dreamless night, not truly feeling the shift in time between when his head landed on the fur and when it left it; the only indicator that time had passed being the sun that had now risen in the sky. Propping himself up on his elbows, he turned his head to bring his vision to his previous discovery. The mid-morning sun glinting off of the amber as the charcoal skin beneath the glossy surface still looked dull and somewhat dusty.

After bringing himself to his feet, he decided to take a full inventory of what he had in his packs: His sleeping bag, axes, Dragon Fire Gear wires and parts with harness, Changewing acid, monstrous nightmare gel, magnesium strips, fishing rod, spare clothes and a lot of smoked fish. He'd have to thank Mikasa for that later, he thought passingly. Grabbing his axe by the worn handle, he put the razor edge against the pole of his fishing rod, softly notching 4 small cuts into it so that he'd be able to keep track of how many days he'd been there.

Holstering his weapons, he set about collecting all the things he could imagine that may help him get that damn crystal open; He'd carried it all the way down so he'd be damned if he didn't try open it. Setting out a hypothesis, he supposed that at least one of the kind of fires that he could start would break down the surface.

* * *

Conclusion: He was wrong. Sitting back down in the shifting sand, exasperated as threw down the now empty vial. Eventually he gave up and was by the camp, glaring at the amber next to him, preparing another flare when he remembered what his friend Armin had always said about his purple pendant from his grandfather, he could never bring it swimming or else the saltwater would cause it to dissolve.

Realising what this could mean, he quickly set about building a rough safe bay in the river, separate from his boat, jamming several sticks into the shifting sand. Reeling the crystal into the ocean, the sea water began to his as it dissolved, the smile on Eren's face quickly spread; however, it was then followed by an equally swift spreading fear, that he was going to have a very tired, enraged Nightwing in front of him, and from what he could tell about it from its body through the amber, it had been hurt by hunters long ago based on the gashes on its side, and if it hadn't seen a human since it went into the amber… How would it react to him?

Remembering the stories told by the Bards and his instructors about the Chieftain and the original riders, he quickly set about stripping himself of weapons and grabbed some food rations and dragon root, placing them in front of himself as he sat himself down in front of the crystal, waiting.

It awoke slowly first, hooded eyes adjusting to the light, stiff muscles stretching as his wings softly opened. Looking around, the dragon tried to figure out what was happening, but when it saw Eren and realised where it was she, she jolted up and roared, the cry like a thousand Vikings at the brink of battle. And yet, Eren simply sat and endured it, never taking his eyes away from the Dragon's direction, but not looking into its eyes either, scanning over the sand before her talons. He dipped his head slightly as a sign of respect, not knowing if it would understand. The pause and then soft padding forward confirmed he was right. He slowly moved his hand from his side, the dragon growling slightly, but Eren kept his hand close to the ground, hovering only to point to the fish, considering pushing it forward but not wanting to be too aggressive.

The dragon then cautiously eyed the fish and then took it and retreated a few paces back. Eren then turned his head and moved slowly to get up, hearing the Dragon twitching in anticipation and readiness. He then moved to his campsite and went to sleep, praying to the Gods that it didn't kill him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Born once more

Chapter 5 – Eren Jaeger A4

When he awoke, he saw the Night Fury on the other end of the bay, the light skimming off the water between them. But when Eren got up, it slowly stalked towards his campsite, eyes only slightly downcast as she drew closer and closer. He returned to the position he was in the previous evening, not wanting to rile up the dragon at all. As she approached the boarder of the campsite, the Night Fury sat down a few paces back from him, but when Hiccup pushed forward a small portion of fish, she made no growl, instead taking it and then returning to the other end of the coast, but not all the way.

This repeated, meal after meal, day after day.

But each time the Dragon was less hostile and didn't pull away so quickly, nor did it stray so far down the beach from him when it left.

* * *

It was only on the 12th day that she stayed with Eren. She saw him fishing, catching them, and to Eren's surprise, decided to help to by walking into the water, utilising her long unused echolocation to hunt the fish and herd them towards the sand where Eren was.

Neither of them really knew it, but this built some unspoken mutual respect he thought as Eren gave the Night Fury an extra fish that day, with it then staying by the campsite, if even only in a sort of guard dog position.

This repeated for another 6 days until eventually the Night Fury had been so close to Eren that it made physical contact with him, but quickly retracting. Remembering what he was taught, Eren went to offer his palm to the Night Fury's snout who, after a brief hesitation accepted it. Eren was surprised that the Dragon had not yet flown away, even after near 18 days assuming that it's wings or legs were damaged, only then in that moment realising that it's wings and legs were fine, instead it actually liked him and had chosen to stay. Unable to keep the grin from his face, he watched the embers before him crackle under the stars that littered the heavens like drops of sand in the ocean.

He understood that it would not be able to fit in the boat, nor could he fly it, but he did know that they were intelligent. So he asked the Night Fury if it understood him, receiving a nod. After this, Eren was able to explain his situation, and after a day of waiting the night fury returned, nudging to the boat, indicating that it would be willingly to fly alongside the boat.

Whilst he wasn't completely sure where he was, Eren knew that friendly islands must be at least to his Northeast as he could tell from the constellations. And so, he eventually made his way back, arriving near dead from exhaustion at the Defenders of the Wings' Island, where the Night Fury stood protectively over his medical quarters as the Queen personally made contact with Berk through Terror Mail that one of their cadet's, Jaeger, needed medical attention and as such was given it, if someone could retrieve him it would be much appreciated. As such, a Shield rider came to pick him up, being dumbfounded by the night fury, asking assurance that it would follow them safely. Once received, he was swiftly taken back to the haven of Berk.

* * *

After he had recovered, the first thing he awoke to see was the Night Fury waiting by his side, it's head resting on Eren's legs, and Armin and Mikasa sitting resting on the seats at the other side of his room.

Upon awakening his Night Fury, he motioned for her to stay quiet, before pulling himself closer to her ear,

"We make a hell of a team out there huh? I like being with you, it feels ah, almost like we're… you know? Compatible?" He whispered in a hushed tone (He quickly made a mental note to ask Armin for the right word once he had woken up later.)

"Anyways," returning to the dragon's still sleepy eyes "I was wondering, can I be your rider? I promise to take care of you if you'd let me."

She then quickly got excited, nodding her head before beginning to lift her head upright to yelp in excitement, cutting her short, he shushed the dragon quickly, as to not wake up Armin and Mikasa. As she fell docile once more, he thought out loud

"You needed this as much as me didn't you? You were trapped, you needed freedom… Liberty… Hey why don't I call you that? It's not much of a name though… how about Libby?"

Upon hearing that, Libby yipped in excitement much to Eren's frustration as Armin and Mikasa were instantly awoken and rushed to him, asking him what happened and the like, after explaining his story, he then was able to get out of bed.

Once cleared, he began to learn to ride Libby, scoring some of the highest compatibly ratings seen since the Chief himself. And as such, whilst somewhat star struck he wasn't confused when the Chief personally met with him and his Night fury, bringing the famed Toothless and asking Eren about the island, who handed him a scroll with all the information he had written down whilst on the island about the cavern and its location, in the hopes that he'd be able to give it to the people of Berk that it may serve them. As the Chief dipped his head in respect, Eren felt his heart swell his pride as he realised he had just potentially helped the Chief, the military, maybe even Berk itself.

'Yeah' he thought, resting his hand on Libby's saddle 'This is what I signed up for'


	6. Chapter 6 - Fight

Chapter 6- Mikasa Ackerman (Arc 1)

Mikasa Ackerman's life has not been an easy one. In any way, shape or form. She has been crushed by existence, time and time again. But what good is a sword that is not forged in the hottest flames, shaped by the harshest hammers and sharpened by the most unforgiving stone? This is the tale of Mikasa Ackerman.

* * *

Mikasa Ackerman lived on a small farm in one of the outer lying districts with her family. Both her father, her mother and herself had travelled across vast oceans and stretching lands from the east to come and escape feuding of warlords and emperors and build a new life in the promise of progress that was the Viking city of Berk.

Oh how wrong they were.

It wasn't at all their fault, as they weren't to know, but in the forest near their home was a small Dragon Hunter base, nothing more than a campsite. And in that campsite were mercenaries and hunters who did whatever the highest bidder paid them to.

So it wasn't the Ackerman's fault when a price was placed on the 'exotic and rare pale women near Shiganshina' by a Titanian Businessman.

It wasn't the Ackerman's fault that the Hunter's broke into their home.

It wasn't the Ackerman's fault that a husband and father was stabbed through the heart in cold blood.

It wasn't the Ackerman's fault that they were grabbed by the hair and dragged off, kicking and screaming.

It wasn't the Ackerman's fault that the only thought that flooded through the women was to fight.

It wasn't the Ackerman's fault that she had an axe sunk into her neck.

It wasn't Mikasa's fault that she was thrown into a crate and put onto a carriage as her family and home lay frozen in time. Cold. Dead.

But as she lay there, trapped in that crate, the creaking wood all around her, the jeers of the men filling her ears, the pungent odour of blood filling her thoughts, she could only have one clear thought that she would hold onto for years.

"This is all my fault".

* * *

She was held in a small cabin further up the mountain, waiting to be collected and sold off to, to become some rich man's plaything, his toy. And all that flooded her head was their deaths and the words. "It's all my fault".

She was so entrapped by these thoughts, like a fly in a spider's web, she didn't realise the smell of blood had come into existence once again as she looked up and saw a boy, no more than her own age burying an axe into the Hunter's chest, screaming as he swung again. And again. And again.

She could see what was happening, heard what the boy said, but her body wouldn't move. Until she realised. She only saw two dead bodies "Where's the third one…" came a soft whisper and as she said the words, the door was kicked in and the murderer of her father took his step into the room.

She turned to see the boy turn away from cutting her ropes, the cold blade in his hand, as he swings at the man. But this man was not a fool nor unprepared as the other two. He caught the arm, breaking the wrist in one fluid motion, sending the axe spiralling out of the boy's hand as his screams of pain filled the air. He took the child by the throat, crushing the life out of him and all she was trapped. Again. She couldn't do anything. This is all her fault; it's all her fau- her thought was cut off by the young boy's voice "Fight! Defy! You have to fight! You die, you lose; you win you live and you can only win if you fight!"

And suddenly, her mind became clear. All of the thoughts of blood and screams had become memories. Only one thought filled her head.

Defy. Fight.

She didn't realise she held the blade that was now in the man's spine until she felt the blood trickle down her hands. As his limp and lifeless body fell to the ground, her eyes followed it. Feeling nothing but a sense of justice and a feeling of grief over her parents.

As she was taken outside by Eren, they were eventually picked up by his father as the Scales arrived. Realising she had nowhere to go, the Jaegers took her into their home and she lived with them. She stills remembers how when they got to the door, Eren took off the scarf around his neck and put it around hers and smiling at her. She grew to love Eren.

She'd never say it out loud but she knew what that feeling was. Of course she would grow to love Armin, Eren's best friend who she met some time later as well, but in a different way. For Eren, she knew that he had risked everything for her back at the cabin, so when Eren said he was enlisting, she hated it, but knew that she had to risk everything too, joining him to protect him as much as she could.

* * *

Whilst Eren had an Iron will, Mikasa had something to match even that. A purpose. As pure and refined as silver: Defy. Fight. Protect.

It was this purpose that drove her as she mastered hand to hand combat, capable of entering a version of that same state of clarity of mind anytime she held her weapon in her hands. Whilst she was fond of the traditional Viking dual axes, they were somewhat lacking in the finesse that her Assessors had mentioned she had the easy potential for in her top of the cadet corps report. As such, during one of her registered leaves, she, Armin and Eren, all went back. Back to her parent's home.


	7. Chapter 7 - Live

Chapter 7 – Mikasa (Arc 2)

It was painful for her. Brutal. To have to relive each and every second of that nightmare. But she felt the hands of Armin and Eren on her shoulders, felt their smiles as she looked at them, felt their warmth as they hugged her and she knew that this place could be what it was once more. Before it became cold. Before it became a place of blood and death. Maybe, it could return to a place of love. And Family.

She went to the basement, approaching the cold stone wall. Her parents never thought she had figured it out it's secret but she always knew, she just never felt like looking at it. As she felt the false brick fall out of place, the small cabinet slid open and inside, the crimson velvet holster lay there. Calling her name, like a child to its mother. She took it in her hands, and as if she had done it a thousand times before, drew the retired curved blade out of its sheath, the resonance filling the air like a clear smoke. Lightly resting her thumb on the blade she actually managed to allow herself a small, if only brief, smile.

As she brought her thumb to her eyes, she could see the crimson line dripping from a small, but strong cut. Still sharp. Even after all these years. She looked up, liking to think that it was her parents who kept it sharp for her from the other side. She sheathed her blade once more, returning to Armin and Eren, with the former exclaiming over the blade, at its artistry and skill.

* * *

On the day that they returned to the academy, she brought it to the trainers, and when told they had no one who was versed in that kind of sword to train her, she took it upon herself, spending hours upon hours in the training grounds, in the forests, in the early hours of the morning, in the middle of the day and in the dead of the night, just as her mother had told her stories of the ancient soldiers doing in her homeland.

It wasn't particularly her homeland though she thought. Her homeland was here. With Eren. And Armin. And every other person who had won her respect, which although slim, was growing.

She had passed into Dragon Fire Gear as if it was second nature, her mind in completely tandem with her body, which had been finely tuned by hours of her own brutal training regime. As she spun thought the air, wind whipping past her face and scarf billowing form the momentum, she remembered how her mother would tell her the story of a Crane paying back the debts of those who have done it kindness. It was somewhat relatable in a way. Here she was, soaring through the air like the graceful crane, paying back her debt to Eren and trying to fulfil her parents dream for her being a great daughter, and more importantly, a greater person, even if they couldn't tell her of their pride in person, she still felt it.

* * *

When the time came that she had completed her Dragon Fire Movement Gear certification with her blade, and was given the time to search for a dragon, she was in all honesty somewhat lost at first. She didn't know what to do as all she had done was train for the last 2 years. Her initial thought was to help Eren find his, but after much argument between the two, she came to understand that he needed to do this alone, but made him promise that she could pack his survival pack, just in case.

As she placed the frozen fish into the specifically designed sustainment containers, she felt somewhat calmer, 'I wonder where he'll go…' she thought to herself. Knowing better than to try go back on her word and interfere, she made sure Eren was safe and ready to leave, she said goodbye to him with a simple hug and told him to come back soon.

As he stepped away, she walked back into the bunkhouses, looking for the blond tousle of hair that was Armin. She was fond of Armin. She still remembers the first time they went to the ocean together, the wonder in his eyes and smile was unforgettable.

As she neared Armin's cabin, she was surprised to see a slightly embarrassed and confused Annie walking by her swiftly from Armin's direction, with her eyes cast to the floor and an uncharacteristic smile ebbing on her lips. Raising an eyebrow at the blonde, she considered interrogating her, but then quickly dismissing the notion that they had… done any of that stuff as it was so unlike them both.

She returned to her original focus and as she found him packing books into a trunk, he quickly looked up and gave the warm smile that was almost his signature at this point. He then quickly turned back to trying to stuff more books in, she honestly let out a small stifled laugh causing Armin's head to swivel like an owl as he raised an eyebrow at her. She reminded him that he can't take only books, he needs clothes, meat to help tame and provisions and spare clothes again! Upon hearing this he looked completely crestfallen, realising that he had completely forgotten.

Noticing his face falling, she crouched down and told him that she'd help him. Honestly, to her, Armin was so smart, he had this entire world of knowledge up there, but sometimes he'd trip on such little things, and whilst it was adorable, Mikasa always stepped in and helped him back up, knowing that each stumble hurt him, both physically and mentally.

Once they'd put the rusted latch on the worn case, she asked if he'd need any help, knowing that she shouldn't push the idea like she did with Eren. Armin, almost as if he could read the thoughts she was having, thanked her, and apologised with complete sincerity that he wished to do this alone, but he at least told her that he'd be heading back to the forests around Shiganshina district to research, see his grandfather and hopefully find a compatible dragon in the process, saying he should be back in the fortnight. Mikasa was thankful that Armin took into account that she was worrying.

* * *

So, as he sat on the rickety carriage that would lead him to the beach, she sat on the bench outside the bunkhouse and waved him off as the sun began to dip from its zenith in the sky. She found herself staring up into the sky and just admiring the clouds for a bit when suddenly,

Sasha happened.

She had always been a bit fond of Sasha, her 'potato incident' on their first day had left a pretty big impression on all the recruits but eventually, she began taking her title as 'Potato girl' to her advantage, making herself a countess of leftover food in the 104th, and as Mikasa was on such a tight training regime, she often had some spare food which she always tried to make sure that Sasha got. (Unless Armin had been badly hurt by training that day and needed the strength, then Sasha understood that he'd need it more. Sasha had a soft spot for Armin, in all honesty, most people in the 104th did.)

All of this flew through her mind as Sasha flew in front of her, evidently aiming to land on the bench but failing miserably and ending up with her face on the floor. All that she could bring herself to say and do was to stick her hand out to Mikasa and say 'Help. Please.'

So, Mikasa obliged; pulling the brunette onto the seat with a jolt. As she straightened up, her typical appeased smile popped up again as she asked Mikasa where she was going to try find her dragon. And the though hit her like a dragon itself, she had no idea where she was going to go.

Now looking for inspiration, she asked Sasha the same question, to which she instantly replied Connie without realising, before turning slightly red and stumbling with her next words. Whilst Mikasa didn't make it her business to know who was interested in who, she was able to pick up on people's interests and behaviours quite well, and she had seen the link between Sasha and Connie the moment she saw Connie give her his spare bread and his amused reaction to her love for it.

After a brief pause Sasha explained that her and Connie were intending to ride a Hideous Zipback together and would find one in the closer islands. Mikasa congratulated them as Connie came into view of the two and began waving his arms at Sasha. Besides her, Sasha giggled softly then began waving back, before hearing Mikasa urging her on to go hurry up and be with her man. Whilst Sasha was slightly flustered by the phrase she did hurry up and went to Connie as they walked off to the beach to pinpoint which island to look for.


	8. Chapter 8 - Explore

Chapter 8 – Mikasa (Arc 3)

As Mikasa sat there alone, she let her thoughts wander slightly as her thumb flit across the still pristine surface of the sheathing of her blade. It should have been worn down by the amount that Mikasa ends up running the tip of her thumb over it, but her constant care and maintenance of the gear had kept it from ever deteriorating like that.

It was in that moment she realised, she knew the intricate pattern on there off by heart, each ridge and dip, each turn and twist but she had absolutely no idea what it means. Granted, she could still speak some of the language her mother and father used, she was dulled form lack of practice of her mother country's tongue.

Then it hit her.

She had been forged in one of the hottest, cruellest flames imaginable, from that, she gained the clarity that next to no others ever truly achieved. Her training had tempered her body and mind into the perfect warrior. And yet, whilst she ensured to honour her parent's memory at every opportunity she could both through her training and remembrance, she realised that she had not sharpened herself; Realising that the only way she could truly do this by knowing of the metal from which she was wrought. She knew nothing of her heritage. Standing up, her sword in hand, she began to walk purposefully to the Drillmaster's office, requesting an extended leave.

When asked why, she explained that she wished to travel to her mother nation and search for a dragon there. Whilst naturally, this would not be permitted, this was Mikasa Ackerman, the finest cadet Drillmaster Shadis had ever seen, an exception was in order he supposed, as he gave his signet seal of approval.

* * *

Packing her travelling sack, she remembered to only bring essentials. Food. Water Bottle. Spare tunic. Scarf. Sketch of Armin and Eren. And her trusted blade. Whilst she did not bring much, she had enough gold and silver to buy supplies when needed as once she sold her family home, it turns out that it was rather expensive and as such Mikasa had a reasonable cushion of silver that she rarely ever falls aback on, using it purely for the survival of herself and her friends.

As she began to start walking to the docks of Berk to catch one of the few merchant ships heading for eastern country, she allowed herself a brief glimpse back, expecting only to see the building in which she had tempered herself into the woman she now was. But as well as that, when she turned around she saw others in the courtyard, some of them even waving her off; like Connie and Sasha who just happened to be arguing over what foods to bring, and Krista who didn't seem to have anything against anyone in the 104th, liking all equally (Except Ymir, but she already knew why and thought they were adorable together.)

She realised that her feet had come to a slow halt as she looked at the place she had called home the last 2 years, eventually feeling a nostalgic smile and a reminiscing thought in her head that she'll be back soon enough. And so, she walked on.

* * *

The ship ride over the ocean was long. It was hard. It was gruelling. It was brutal. It was boring. Well. For everyone except Mikasa Ackerman.

For her, this was a trip that was full of a whole array of thoughts and emotions. No matter how much she may not seem it she was a somewhat emotional person. She felt the hope and joy that drove her to explore her homeland all the way to the anxiety she felt over Eren and Armin, on their explorations.

But, as ever, she was able to stay in balance, the rocking of the ship's hull reminding her of the suspension brought by Dragon Fire Gear. Gods, she couldn't wait to use it. She knew that it wasn't allowed over there in the cities, but truth be told, she preferred to do it in the forest, it let her feel free.

After days on end of the brutal ocean attacking their vessel, they finally docked at the coast of the distant country that her parents had once called home. As she stepped out of the dank, musty cabin that she had, she was greeted by a smell of freshness and warmth that she had not felt in the cold, more clear air of Berk. She couldn't pronounce the exact name of this place, but she supposed it did not matter. She could still understand what was being said around her, and she could communicate if even somewhat fragmentally. And so she began to walk on. And on. And on.

She did not quite know when she had reached the top of the mountain, she only realised the moment that her feet came to the edge of the summit and her eyes snapped back into awareness, seeing the vast pink and orange land below her, lit by a rising su-

Wait. Rising?

Had she…?

She began laughing to herself, not the small giggles or grins that she had known throughout her life, but one that felt like it had been pinned down for years, trapped, buried deep. But now, it flew out as Mikasa felt her now finely tuned muscles built for war now working overtime to keep her breathing as she let herself sink to lie down on the floor in pure joy. Yeah. This is what she'd been missing.

As she sat up and watched the sun rise, she allowed her thoughts to wander, how is Eren doing? Probably wrestling with some Monstrous Nightmare in all honesty. Feeling her mouth's corner pull she realised the image was just so accurate. And little Armin? He's probably cataloguing every animal, bug and plant he sees and will eventually find a dragon and it'll just melt and let him be its rider. Her eyes widened as her thoughts snapped back; She needs to find a dragon!

Her now widened eyes begin searching the horizon for a puff of fire, a trail of smoke, a flap of wings, anything. But. Nothing. She had come here without asking Armin what to be looking for, causing her to slap herself on the forehead as her shoulders sunk down in frustration. But as she was looking down, she saw a glint of sliver on the face of the cliff.

Wait… Was that?... As she moved to finish the thought, it flung up towards her like a loaded spring, the only thing saving her being her Dragon Fire Gear and her training. Recuperating from her emergency roll, she looked up to see if it was friendly or a threat and the answer she found was…. Maybe both?

Before her, it's wings beating slowly but surely, each with a stroke of intent, the morning sun gleaming off of it like the armour of the warriors of Berk was a dragon. A Razorwhip.


	9. Chapter 9 - Defy

Chapter 9 – Mikasa (Arc 4)

The two held their ground, both poised to attack but neither wanting to yet, rather opting to observe. Mikasa saw the pride, strength and intelligence in its eyes as they flitted up and down her, she could only assume, looking for a weakness.

The Razorwhip saw the strength in the girl's form, it was rigid yet flexible as the bamboo of the forest below them, her eyes burnt with the fire of the forges of her old home, in control, but stronger than an inferno and her sword. She wielded the sword as if it were a natural extension of herself, it's form flowing in perfect accordance with her own.

The Razorwhip knew not whether or not she could truly wield it as she had not seen her move yet, she stood, observing her like a statue.

The two stood in tandem to each other, neither wanting to give away any weakness and then suddenly, the Razorwhip beat her wings slowly, shifting her weight to the side, causing Mikasa to do the same in opposition, resulting in the two circling each other like predators.

But there did not seem to be any hatred no fear here in fact, the only thing that either has felt is appreciation of the other and wariness for their own survival. And even deeper than that, both felt the burning desire to test the other.

As they slowed once more, Mikasa noted the shift in weight of the tail of the Razorwhip as it snapped around, it slicing through the air as if a lumberjacks', Mikasa was able to place herself back easily, something was odd about that, there was no intent. Was that… Is she… Testing me?

Before she had time to think, the tail came again, but faster, causing Mikasa to focus as the attacks became more frequent and with greater strength in each strike. On what must've been beyond its 20th attack, it swung its full force, looking to see if it could end it, Mikasa froze, she knew that even with her tuned weapon of a body, she couldn't avoid that quick of a movement… wait… A weapon!

Her sword drew a faster arc through the thin air than she had ever been capable of in training and as her sword parried the metal of the Razorwhip, she felt it, they both felt it. It was there.

Resonance.

As the pair's strikes grew faster and faster, their attacks became less of a battle, more of a dance, exploring each other's mind and soul through their blades, the Razorwhip now bringing its wings and firepower into the equation to bring greater life to the dance, Mikasa felt no anxiety at the shift, she had reached a state of mind that had been lost to her for some time now.

Clarity.

As the Razorwhip threw both of its wings forward, releasing a bolt of fire and slinging its tail towards her, another thought had entered her mind that had been forgotten for quite some time now, as the deadly strikes closed in on her form, the word came to clarity, resonating in both of them as she raised her sword, one final time,

Defiance.

As the blades rung and the dust settled, blade of Mikasa Ackerman stood in unity with the blade of the Razorwhip, both panting and maintaining eye contact. And then slowly but surely, the Dragon and the Soldier both retracted the weight from their blades, not breaking eye contact, but the blades and weaponry were calmly retracted, Mikasa sheathing her blade and the Razorwhip lowering itself from its hovering flight.

As they looked into each other's eyes, the real end to the fight occurred. Neither of them were stronger than the other. Every motion the Razorwhip enact, Ackerman had a counter, every swing taken by Mikasa, the Razorwhip reacted to. The two of them were in completely synchronisation. Complete harmony. As so, the two both felt it, they begin to bow in respect to one another, allowing their eyes to break away.

Without looking up, she raised an offering of her hand to the Razor whip's snout.

Without looking up, it pressed itself against her hand, offering itself as an equal.

And as an equal, Mikasa did accept her. She offered a name to the Razorwhip that seemed apt for her, Gloria, and as the words left her lips, she felt Gloria's head dip as she takes the title for herself.

As they broke off, they turned to look out, Mikasa pointed to the sea, raising her eyebrow, trying to copy how Armin always does it and the Razorwhip ends up giving what looked almost like a smile with all those teeth and she found it rather endearing as she patted its neck gently whilst stepping onto the docks.

* * *

As they stepped off the boat, Mikasa felt the chilled air embrace her once more as she felt Gloria's snout push against the small of her back, urging her to lead the way.' Yeah,' she thinks, 'this is going to be good' allowing herself a brief pause in thought, 'I wonder what kind of dragons Armin and Eren got' allowing a small smile to spread across her face as she walked through the gates of her home with one of her new closest allies. Her new partner. Her Defiance.


	10. Chapter 10 - Pyre

Chapter 10 – Armin (Arc 1)

Armin Artlet has lived a life filled with both light and some dark. But for every single second he spent in darkness, his hope that the light would return grew stronger. This is the tale of hope. This is the tale of Armin Artlet.

* * *

Armin grew up in the Shiganshina outer district with his parents and his grandfather. It hadn't always been that way, his grandfather used to live closer to the main heart of the city with his grandmother; but whilst the dragons of Berk may have been tamed, the elements couldn't be.

It was only about 4 years ago that they had been taking a trip across to one of the smaller islands to get away for a bit with a few other elders when suddenly, the skies themselves cracked open and a storm raged without mercy. Armin's grandfather was the only one to survive and be washed up on shores and was eventually found and brought home.

Whilst he lived in that place he called home, without his wife, it felt nothing like it once did, causing him to almost lose sight of the kind, tender, caring man that he had always been. Seeing this danger, his daughter quickly brought him to live with her family and it was there that he met Armin and it was there that he found again the man he once was.

He could see the burning wonder in the boy's eyes as he spoke to him the first time and vowed not to let that spark fade out. So he told the boy stories of his time beyond the walls, before he lived in Berk, whilst the world was still a safe place to explore. With each story he told the boy, he could see that fire burning brighter and brighter, and oh my, when he met his first friend, Eren, he had truly found a compatible friend, for Eren too longed to see the world.

It would be some time before Armin met Mikasa through Eren, but up until around that that time he had lived a quiet peaceful life, running errands throughout the town, being seen with affection by most and living with his family. But that life shattered around him when his parents were stricken with illness, he and his grandfather both quit their jobs to help support the two but, it would seem that their passing was fated by the gods as his mother told Armin. She told him to try and not cry, to always try and learn more, to always explore, before leaving her earthly body behind to explore all of existence as Armin held the now chilling hand of his mother and father, feeling the warmth of his Grandfather's on his shoulder.

* * *

The funeral wasn't grand. It wasn't awe inspiring. It was respectful. It was enough. As Armin drew the string on the lit arrow, his sights set on the pyre ship, he found himself in pain, but also in promise. That he wouldn't lose the path that they had given him.

And lose it, he did not. From his explorations to the ocean with Eren and Mikasa, to studying the wildlife of the forests with his Grandfather, his love for knowledge only grew and grew. He knew that he was a little bit on the weaker side, his body was not that of the natural Viking, but his mind, well, his mind had been compared to the earlier years of the High Professor himself.

So when the time came that Eren told him that he would be enlisting in the military, he had felt conflicted, he knew that if he signed up, the likelihood of survival for his body was slim if not near inexistent, but the potential reward for his mind… all the possibilities that he could find, all the knowledge he could learn… it was boundless. And so that boy enlisted, with his eyes filled with hope and heart of determination.

* * *

The first year was the most gruelling, whilst he loved every second of class time, hand to hand combat was for him, a battle for survival. Not just against his classmates, armed with wooden axes and greater strength than him, but against the malfunctions of his own bodies, from his lungs to his weak muscles all the way down to his fragile bones and against nature itself as he fought to simply stay alive during the winters. Granted that it wasn't his worst enemy, Armin still found that keeping up with training was no easy thing, in fact, he found himself lacking slightly.

As he sat at the edge of the combat hall he watched as the cadets sparred, Eren swinging without restraint at Jean, and Jean responding in kind. He'd never quite understand why they hate each other so. (He knew the reason was Jean's love for Mikasa but Eren was damn blind that he couldn't see that, so Armin couldn't figure out why there was so much hatred). As he sat there, his back against the stone walls of the arena, his body crying for him to give up, he felt that same surge of determination as he tried to push his legs up from the floor, but as he tried, he felt a smaller hand on his arm, holding him from pushing himself any further. When he looked up in confusion he saw none other than Annie Leonhardt.

He'd never quite been able to remember how they'd become friends, it just came to be, maybe it was just their intelligence that lead to this? Pushing those thoughts aside, he looked at Annie inquisitively,

"Annie? What are you doing?"

He received no response from the girl, she instead seeing her simply point to his leg and give him **that** look.

He knew that he was weak, and Annie knew it too. But she also knew that he would try to pick himself up time and time again, so she ended up making him go to the medical bay when he was stuttering that he was fine, trying and failing to conceal the pain he was in.

Whilst Armin liked everyone in the 104th and was reciprocated and liked as well, he had grown to feel a line of connection with Annie that was somewhat unique to them. He supposed that it was the midnight sparring lessons that she gave him in order to help him survive, or it could've been those times where they had to go hunting together in the waters near Berk and barely survived the eels. Good times. **Completely** dangerous and terrifying situations, but still good times he supposed as a small laugh flitted out of his lungs.

But regardless of what caused it, he knew that bond was there, and it carried on into their second year as Armin opted to switch to a spear with a detachable head rather than his dual axes. He knew that it was less of a deadly weapon and perhaps that why he chose it. He didn't like the idea of killing, but if it had to be done, he'd have no hesitation if the lives of his family, his friend, of Berk itself were at stake.

With spear in hand, he quickly adapted to the Dragon Fire Gear; Granted, it was not an easy process, his body being pulled to it's very maximum as his muscles cried for no more. But after pushing through, ignoring the pain, he became one of the fastest improvers that Shadis had ever seen as he made note of in his reports. Time flew by and as he, Eren and Mikasa reached the end of their certifications. As the three of them sat, Eren raving about how he'll destroy Titania, even if he has to do it alone, Mikasa, sitting quietly as she played with Eren's hair as she listened to his words, Armin realised that he would soon have to separate from the two to find it. His very own dragon.


	11. Chapter 11 - Hearth

Chapter 11 – Armin (Arc 2)

Returning to his cabin, he slammed the door shut without realising as he paced over to his bunk. Once he had sat down, he began pouring over his books, trying to find the one that would be right for him, swinging from the less confusing Deadly Nadders, to the friendlier Gronckles all the way to the lesser spotted Changewings who he had devised a device to identify them with.

He groaned in frustration as none of them seemed quite right, burying his face in his pillow. As he lay there, motionless, thoughts drifting through his head, he heard a firm flurry of knocks on the door; Supposing that it was just Eren wanting to talk to him, he called for the person to enter.

As the door opened, Armin groaned again and started his spiel of frustration at and love for dragons with his face still in his pillow. When had finally finished he just asked,

"What should I do?"

"Well for starters you could look up when someone comes into your room"

His body jolted at the response he got from none other than Annie Leonhardt who he now realised he had been ranting to this whole time.

His face flushed and flustered to scramble and bring himself upright, when he looked at her face more clearly he saw that small smile that fleeted away in an instant as she brought herself to composure. Without any hint of hesitation or uncertainty, she tells him

"You need to find one that's actually right for you; not just look up one that correlates with his statistics, you actually need to go and find the damn thing" After glancing at the space next to him, Armin quickly shuffled over as she made her way to sit down.

"This whole thing" she muttered "It's instinctive, you can't find it in a book, in a scroll or in a painting"

"But how?" Came the uncertain voice "Books are really all I'm good at you know? Like papers and books are the only goo-"

"Shut up Artlet."

A stunned silence permeated the air for a moment as Armin felt the force of the order sink in.

"That's yak shit and we both know it" Annie stated bluntly with a small quiver of frustration in her tone "Yeah, you're good at books- Hell, you could've been a scholar, still no clue why you chose to come to this hell hole…"

"But that's not all that you are. Your brain is what's the key here. Books are just how you best unlock it is all" Annie explained, the anger dimming from her voice

"Artlet."

"Yep?"

"Still listening?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, remember how you always told me about how you explored the woods with your grandpa?"

"Annie, I told you that years ago, how do you stil-"

"Doesn't matter. Right now, I think you need to go back to those woods. You've always been able to thrive when you're somewhere familiar and I hear the Shiganshina forests have a lot of calm dragons"

Armin felt he his throat tighten up as he was still somewhat taken aback,

"Than… Thanks"

"No issue"

The silence between them now softened as Armin gingerly asked,

"What about you? Any idea where you're going?"

"Not really no. I just figured I'd figure out something soon"

"Oh that's nice…"

"I know that I want a Nadder." As she spoke, he was not at all surprised; her fighting style would work perfectly with a Nadder.

They sat together quietly for a while, a comfortable silence rested in the air. Annie broke the silence by doing the strangest thing which he'd never seen her do before. As she unengaged the straps of her Dragon Fire Gear, her eyes found Armin's and saw the confusion in them, and the blush that was surrounded them in his face.

She asserted

"Calm down, **that** 's not happening"

And as the words left her lips, she could audibly hear Armin's sigh of relief. It wasn't as if they were disgusted by each other or anything; rather, just that they were both not particularly fond of the kind of stuff that their classmates did in dark bushes and side corridors.

As the last of her shoulder straps came loose, she shifted off her hooded tunic, showing the light plain grey tunic that she wore underneath. Armin sat there still in confusion, what was she doing? His question was answered as she put the hooded tunic in his hands,

"I swear to the Gods, if you die from cold, I will kill you." She mumbled

Armin's eyes widened in shock and protest

"Annie I seriously can't take this from you, it's yo-"

A silent glare with no real malicious behind it was still enough to get Armin to accept it. As he ran his hand over the soft fabric, he realised that this was the first gift he'd ever gotten from Annie, he burst into a smile, reaching his arms around her to hug her realising a millisecond later that it may have been too far.

Her body was tense and rigid, not knowing how to respond as they stood, both frozen in surprise at what the boy had just done. Armin went to pull away and begin apologizing but as he went to retract his embrace, he felt it. Slowly but surely, her muscles began to loosen as she gingerly placed her arms around him as if this was her first hug; maybe it was he thought. They stayed like that for a moment, taking in the quiet that grew between them. Slipping into the hooded tunic, noting how it fitted, he waved goodbye to her as she began quickly walking off.

* * *

Quickly, he set to work packing his case, grabbing everything he'd need, primarily. Books. He knew that he'd be away for at least a week, so he knew that he'd need at least a week's worth of material, the other stuff like equipment he could just pack around it.

As he put his grandfather's journal into his tunic pocket, he heard the familiar light steps of his childhood friend Mikasa. She was honestly like his big sister a lot of the time, from protecting him to helping him as she was now by reorganising his books. She knew that he loved his books so made sure that there was still enough space for them. She didn't quite understand why Artlet was wearing one of Annie's tunic's after seeing her leave his room but he decided that this time, she'd leave him be about it.

As they put the latch on the chest case, Mikasa softly asked

"Will you need any help?"

Thinking back to Annie's words, he decided that it was time for him to do something important like this alone, telling her as softly as he could that

"I'll be okay you know. I've gotten a little stronger than when we first got here" he explained with a hint of light heartedness. But after seeing the concern in Mikasa's face etch deeper, he quickly followed that

"I promise I'll be back in the two weeks; I'll be safe". Once he'd gotten her glance of approval, he picked his now packed bags up, walking to the rickety carriage that he'd been in for the next day or two, waving warmly to Mikasa as she became smaller and smaller over the horizon.

* * *

When he woke up from a short nap, he realised that they were very near his destination, recognising the chilling lakes where he had first learnt to swim with his dad. He peeked his head out of the side of the caravan, seeing the small town of Shiganshina rising over the edge of the hill they were riding on, he felt the smile on his face grow as he felt the anticipation in his heart amplify.

As he stepped up to the threshold of the house, he took a moment to focus himself, it had been a near year since he saw his grandfather last. Not that they lost contact or anything, they still wrote many letters, it was just that the training was very time consuming. So when Armin knocked on the door and was greeted with embracing arms, he was nothing but relieved.

As he stepped into the threshold he began to tell his grandfather all the stories that he hadn't been able to fit onto the pages of his letters. However, it was as they sat by the fireplace that Armin's grandfather asked him the question that would freeze him like a Snow Wraith

"Armin my boy, where did you get that tunic? It looks different to your usual style."

Seeing the jolt of anxiety in his grandson's eyes as his body grew rigid for a moment, he simply quickly retracted his question, even if he wasn't quite sure why it caused so much panic to the boy

"Well I quite like it; It suits you well." He offered tenderly. Seeing his grandson's shoulders relax, he urged Armin to continue telling his stories.

Once they'd caught up on what had happened with both of them, Armin's grandfather turned to him and inquired

"So what brought you back to little old Shiganshina? Training? The Gods?" Raising his eyebrow playfully he quickly then added "Perhaps some lady friend?"

Seeing his grandson tense up once more, he gave a cat like grin,

"I'm only joking, only jest my boy." Looking at the boy's nervous expression "But in all seriousness, how can I help?"

"Well… uhm… I need a dragon…"

A soft, droplet like silence fell into the room as their eyes met,

"And I just figured that this place might have one that suits me…"

As the words left his mouth, Armin's grandfather let out a hearty laugh, much to the boy's surprise as he looked inquisitively at the old man,

"You're just like your mother… Have I ever told you that?" Armin softly and quickly "Yeah… She could always find the answers to her questions right at home… I think I may have just the thing for you" He proclaimed as he raised himself out of his worn chair.

He lumbered over to his bookshelf, pondering for a moment as his calloused fingertips brushed over the spines before then plucking a leather-bound turquoise book and giving it to Armin. Armin's face remained in confusion for a moment before he saw the crest on the cover of the book and the etched runes beneath it. Tidal Dragons Armin then quickly thanked him and made leave for the coastline as his grandfather stood, leaning against the railing of his porch, watching the boy run of, with an excited scamper in his step.


	12. Chapter 12- Lighthouse

Chapter 12 – Armin (Arc 3)

He honestly didn't know what to expect when he got there, so he just hired a small dingy from a local man he had known when he was younger and took it out to the waters, feeling the sand shift as he pushed off and the nostalgic ocean breeze wash over him. Putting down his oars and resting when he had gotten far enough away that the dragons could be found, he sat and waited, watching the clouds, letting his thoughts shift. He knew that he wouldn't be able to handle bigger dragons, the thought of him riding a Submarriper made him laugh out loud, so much so that it must have caught attention as when his laughter softened, he looked down in the water to find the swirling patterns of a dragon's form beneath the surface.

Quickly grabbing his grandfather's book, he frantically searched through it to find the dragon that he saw. It was only when it's emerald head broke the surface that Armin could see that it was a Scauldron, it's serpentine eyes flickering over his boat, deciding whether or not he was a threat.

Remembering his notes from the classroom, Armin quickly averted his eyes and raised his hand softly in the dragon's direction. He felt the dragon's wet snout press against his hand but not in an accepting nor a hostile way, his eyes flickering up in confusion, he saw the softness in the Scauldron's eyes but he also saw that whilst it saw saw as a good person, it didn't see him as right for it.

Armin was flooded with thoughts of inadequacy and failure, sinking to the hull of his vessel and feeling the salty tears fall from his eyes as he began to cry once more, slamming his hands, now curled in fists against the mast.

"Why am I not good enough?! What did I do wrong?! Why can't I do it?! What's wrong with me?!"

His head flooded with anxious and panicked thoughts as the tears poured down his now reddened cheeks until he felt the firm presence of the Scauldron pressing against the top of his back, nudging him to get his attention.

Lifting his head to the dragon, puffy red eyes just making out the shape, he felt that it was turning his ship towards the mainland, its arched neck pointed to the forest. Whilst at first bewildered, once Armin realised what the dragon meant, he sunk back to the floor of the ship, but this time, with only one knee as he bowed in respect and thanks to the dragon. It too arched its head downwards, before swiftly returning to the ocean floor, leaving Armin to pick up the splintery oars and pull his way back to shore.

* * *

As Armin stepped back onto the solid land, he began the trek up to the forest, concluding that he just wasn't right for a tidal dragon and that he should just explore and the right one will find him eventually. Annie's words resonated in his memory as he looked down at the ground and grinned, now knowing that she was right.

Returning back to the present around him, he kept focus on the path ahead of him, set to reach the forest soon. Well. That was the plan until his grandfather saw him wandering up the beaten path and called him into the house, making him eat the homemade soup and sleep in a proper bed. Both of which made Armin feeling as if he was in Valhalla. When the morning sun came, he got up, returning the book to his father and explaining that Tidal dragons were not for him.

With a smile of acceptance and knowing, his grandfather said what Armin was thinking

"You want to explore don't you?" he softly stated

And Armin gave a firm nod of his head. Opening the door for the boy when he was packed up, Armin's Grandfather waved him off as he walked up the forest covered mountain.

He spent countless hours exploring the forests and studying the terrain making note of all the different wildlife he saw, including the occasional terrible terror. Eventually he decided he felt weariness creep up on him.

Placing his notebook into his pocket, he eventually settled by a small pine tree and allowed his thoughts to wander, eventually reaching those he had left back at the camp, Eren, Mikasa, Annie. He wondered how they're getting on. These thoughts eventually leading his mind down the path to sleep.

* * *

As he awoke from his slumber, he felt an unusual presence near him, he wasn't sure what it was but he knew that he was being watched. As he looked around, eyes flitting from the branches to the shrubs cautiously, he could feel in the air that it wasn't a hostile situation but rather one of curiosity. He slowly packed away his books into his carry sack, softly picking himself up and looking for these eyes that watched him.

Whilst at first he didn't see anything, it was when he saw the small rustle of movement to his right that he knew something was there; Quickly engaging his Dragon Fire Gear, he raised himself to one of the higher branches, eyes scouring the treeline to find that presence, not out of want to question them or anything of the sort, simply to know what or rather probably, who it was.

Feeling his balance waver as his feet rested upon the delicate branch, he swiftly unlatched the spear from his back's harness, removing the fatal spearhead and putting it in his pouch to use to balance himself. As closed the flap of his pouch, he saw again, out the corner of his eye; A ruffle of movement, so he fired a wire into a nearer tree to try and get a better look at it.


	13. Chapter 13 - Sunlight

Chapter 13 – Armin A4

This game of 'hide and seek' went on for hours on end until the sun had begun to dip near the skyline. Realising that he needed to head home soon, he steeled himself and tore his gaze away from his observer, vowing that he'd find out eventually. Activating it, he set about to lower himself with his Dragon Fire Gear before feeling the gut wrenching grind of gears.

Of course.

Of all the times that his outer gear could've jammed, it had to be whilst he was in free fall in the darkening woods. Great. He saw the ground coming closer and closer, bracing himself for impact, praying to the Gods that his body wouldn't shatter like it always had in those training grounds.

As he closed his eyes in anticipation of the agony, he was perplexed as it didn't come. He slowly let his eyes open as he realised that he was being held in the air. So perhaps his gear did actually work and was just a little jamme- but that thought was cut short as he realised he was being held by his feet, and as he looked up he realised what was holding him up. A dragon.

The human's somewhat nervous smile as he made eye contact with his observer, now saviour, was enough to make the dragon let loose a small grin as well. He then quickly set about softly lowering the boy in his sharp talons taking care not to injure him, slowly beating all of his wings until the boy could brace himself on the ground and tapped his small hands against the talons in a request to be released.

* * *

As the boy rolled up, he picked up the staff that he had dropped during the fall, slowly turning to face the dragon that he had been playing with for the last few hours, his eyes widening as he looked upon it. A Stormcutter.

Quite smaller and less scary than average for its breed but it still retained the calm air of dignity held by its more intimidating large counterparts, it's lower wings tucked gently to its side, it's upper wings stretching softly to its sides allowing the light to pass through the thin orange membrane and its eyes. Stark yellows iris encompassed jet black pupils that softly ran over his smaller form.

The Stormcutter could see the boy's curiosity and observation of him and he found it rather likeable; He did not think himself a vain dragon, but when he saw the wonder in the boy's eyes as he watched him, he couldn't help but feel some pride. The two now thinking of their experiences together, after the fall he had saved the boy from, who was now looking up at him with a profound, respect and thanks which the Stormcutter found somewhat alien. But when the young boy bowed his head in that respect, the dragon slowly dipped his head in appreciation of the boy's presence and due respect.

As they both raised themselves back up, the delicately framed boy tenderly raised his palm out to the dragon, casting his eyes downwards as his hand shook. The Stormcutter had come to understand by watching the dragons with their humans in the villages near the forest it lived in that this was a symbol, or rather, a request of friendship.

After mulling on it for a brief moment, the beast of the forest softly pressed its snout against the boy's hand, noting the caring nature of the child, intertwined with his fierce fire for knowledge and feeling it resonate with his own thoughts. The boy then looked up at his new ally and all he could feel was the graceful nature of the dragon as it looked at him. With the light from the remnants of the sun breaking through the forest behind them, Armin couldn't help but remember an old myth his father had told him that he picked up from the south east of a Boy finding a sword in a stone with the help of a sorcerer, what was his name…. Merlin? He thought it resonated a little with his own place in the dimming forest.

* * *

As he turned to return to the road that led to the village, he looked to the dragon that walked by his side on his hind legs, and spoke quietly as he said

"Excuse me?"

Causing the dragon's head to slowly turn towards his new friend, with a look of inquiry painted on his expression, to which the boy reached out his hand once more, scratching the stormcutter's neck as he asked

"Can I call you Merlin? I don't know if it's a bril- "

As he was cut off short by the dragon's purr of excitement, a smile grew once more on his face as he proclaimed

"Alright Merlin; Let's go home"

When Armin had reached his family house, he found his grandfather resting on his worn chair, looking out over the sunset, probably reminiscing on times past. But when he heard the soft crunch of gravel from the dragon's footsteps accompanied by the boy's even softer ones, he turned and his smile shone as the sun had earlier that day, a tear making its way down his cheek; remembering the stories that he had told his daughter of the boy of the villager who played in the woods, befriending the Great Owl, Protector of the Forest that lived there, now realising as he looked upon the Stormcutter played with the boy, spinning its head around trying to find the boy who had hidden under his wing, that yes, his grandson, his Armin was a bit like that boy. And he could not have felt prouder.

* * *

As Armin returned to the training grounds to register his dragon with the Corps, he noted that not many had yet returned, with only Marco, Connie and Sasha present. And after greeting them and their new dragons, Chester and Jeff, a playful Hideous Zipback and Richter an adorable nice little Gronkle, Armin considered returning to his grandfather's for a few more days.

He knew that he loved to see Armin and he also loved getting to know Merlin, who had grown extremely fond and protective of the Artlets, but he also knew that his old man wasn't exactly living it in the lap of luxury and feeding a dragon wasn't cheap; So he opted to instead pen a letter to him telling him of their journey back.

Feeling the need for some fresh air and to stretch his legs a bit, he called to Merlin and began walking out of the gated training grounds. As he walked along the coastal road, they looked out over the ocean and it's lapping waves and realising that this is what their life was always meant to be. And so, the boy of Hope and the Protecting Dragon continued down their path, eyes still fixed on the dimming horizon.


	14. Chapter 14 - Freezing

Chapter 14 – Annie (Arc 1)

Annie Leonhardt is a girl whose life is shrouded in abandonment, betrayal, reclusion and perfection. A life built around shutting the world out and making herself into perfection. A flawless diamond. But can even a diamond hold its outer perfection until the end of time? This is the tale of Annie Leonhardt.

* * *

Annie Leonhardt was not a native of Berk, nor was she ashamed to say it. Her homeland was a small lumber town on an island in an area that was occupied by the forces of Titania; it was a peaceful life, but a hard one. It was this way as, in reality, it was harder than anything she had ever known but then again, it was all she'd ever known, so she came to be at peace with it. Her mother was a merchant, as was her father and they often worked together in the markets on the mainland, leaving her to be alone for much of her childhood.

She cannot say that she was an isolated girl at the time, for though she didn't have many, she still had friends. She had grown up as family friends with two boys, Reiner and Bertholdt as well as another boy called Marcel and a girl, Mina. They did all the kinds of things you'd expect a child to do; play in the fields, explore the woods, all of that. But what you wouldn't expect a kid to do is to be forced into a military to fight for their oppressors.

* * *

They were terrified as they were dragged away from their families, but the worst thing was, they were the lucky ones. As if their parents had resisted any further like Marcel's did, they would've been the ones left bleeding out on the fresh snow yet all that they could do was watch.

Watch in horror as their friend for years was torn apart by slaved war-dogs.

Watch as they were abandoned by their families, who whilst they cried, still reaped the rewards of their children's fate of suffering.

Watch, as countless children around them were forced to fight to survive.

But the time came that Annie could no longer watch. It wasn't in her hands anymore. All that was, was the thin knife that was still stained from its last wielder's blood as she was thrown into a dirt pit alongside another weary, exhausted girl. As they stood up, seeing the silent cold masked men observe from above, they glanced at each other and both knew what they had to do.

* * *

As Annie stood in the mud, her hands and feet drenched in rainwater and fresh blood, she knew, that from that moment on, she would not ashamed of where she came from. But she would be of what she'd done.

For the next four years, that became all she knew. Killing. Fighting for survival. Like an animal. She had become one of the deadliest and most efficient drafts the forces of Titania had recorded in recent history, turning whatever was put into her hands, from axes, to swords, to scythes into one thing. A tool for killing whatever was in front of her.

She knew what she was doing the whole time and she hated herself for it. But she knew that she would hate herself even more if gave up as if she did, what would be the point of the trail of corpses that she had left in her wake?

* * *

Annie never saw herself as a remorseful girl, but she did believe in responsibility; with each victim that fell at her hands, she would make a small nick on her one possession left from home. A crystal that she had found whilst exploring the abandoned tunnels with her friends at home. By the time she had perfected her art, turned her body into the perfect weapon, capable of using any tool and even her own limbs if needs be, she realised that of all the recruits, only 3 remained. Herself, Reiner and Bertholdt.

She ran her thumb across the crystal, silently and desperately looking to prove to herself that there wasn't enough space for two more scratches, begging in her mind that she wouldn't have to kill them. As she realised the implications of them being the only three alive, it struck her that Mina must have been killed as well. She probably died right by where her foot was now planted firmly.

She knew not what she was doing, her lithe body near moving on its own accord, her form rising from a small, locked form in the dirt to a towering monster, trembling with rage. She felt her jaw locked, her breathing slowing and her muscles ready.

* * *

It was only when she felt the seemingly boiling hot hand on her shoulder that she realised that Bertholdt and Reiner were standing too, they're eyes alit as they stared at the captors. It was taken as a symbol that they were ready. The weapons fell. Cold steel sunk into the dirt as the weapons of choice were thrown into the stadium for one last duel. Each stepped forward to select their weapons, eyes never once leaving the metal covered faces of the men above. Annie felt her hands wrap around the grips of her favoured weapon, twin knives: graceful, deadly and precise. She found herself in these blades.

As the three picked up the tools of slaughter from the dirt, they turned, eyes interlocking as gears in a war machine before snapping back up to their observers. Their handlers. The ones who treated them like animals for years on end. They had a name for the soldiers that were born of these programs. They were known as Titans. Gods of War. Dragon Slayers. The Ultimate Weapons.

And it was time for their final demonstration.


	15. Chapter 15 - Snowflake

Chapter 15 – Annie (Arc 2)

As Annie walked out of the underground cellar that she had come to call her existence, she felt the cold rain descend onto her blood coated face. She winced at the brightness of the outside world, dropping the mask that had been gripped in her hand after tearing it from one of those bastard's faces. She didn't truly know who was behind the mask that now lay coated in mud. She knew only that he was dead. She knew only that she was not the same innocent girl that had been dragged down into that pit of hell on earth. She knew who she was.

Annie Leonhardt. The Warrior of the Third Pit. The Frozen Titan.

And she knew that she bore this title. She hated it, but knew that she must bear it. For her enemies must know, on the day that she finds them on the field of battle; that they made the monster before them.

* * *

Knowing that they could not fight all of Titania alone, they travelled together on the northern path, eventually finding the great city of Berk. Passing through the gates as refugees, Annie had no choice but to live in the streets, but she didn't really mind it; facing the elements with the same easiness that a cat faces a mouse. Winter could not break her, for when she was reborn in that dark cold pit, she was reborn of pure, silent and deadly ice. Yet whilst winter could not break her, it could still break those around her like fragile spun glass.

They had to leave him there. Cold. Broken. Alone.

Tearing her eyes from her more painful present, she looked to the road before her, deciding that when she reached the legal age of enlistment for training, she would join, without or without her comrade. In the weeks that followed after she took the axes offered to her as she stood to attention in the stone training arena, Annie Leonhardt quickly rose in terms of skill in hand to hand combat, her instincts forged in the pit broiled beneath the surface as she held them back, as whilst those around her knew her name, her title and her past, they did not know her monstrous nature. And she'd be damned if they found out. As a soldier, she was compared to the likes of Mikasa Ackerman in terms of skill, placing her in the highest tier of recorded Berkian History. Yet whilst she felt pride at this, she knew that it was all just to refine her skills. She didn't need connections. She didn't need these people. She didn't need friends.

But she ended up gaining one anyways.

* * *

She had always seen people who were weak as disadvantaged. She didn't hate nor judge them for it. Simply felt pity for them. So when she saw a frail young boy, struggling to hold back the barrage of brutish swings being thrown at him, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed with it. Moving swiftly to block the axe swing from hitting the boy's only lightly armoured head and following the arc of the blow, her eyes caught that of the sparring partners, who now stood, frozen in fear as she moved fluidly and swiftly, taking the weapons from the cadet's hand, throwing them to the side.

In a silent bewilderment, the boy stepped to the side to pick up his weapons, but feeling the chill around the girl and decided against returning to his partner. As Annie looked back at the boy, now calmer and observant, she noted his eyes. At the time, there was no connection, simply an observation of the wonder in those eyes. How the hell does someone like that end up in a place like this?

'You did.' A small voice hissed at her in the back of her mind.

She quickly stepped back and looked off trying to centre her thoughts, waiting for him to respond to her action, seeing out of the corner of her eye that he was still observing her. Why, in the name of Death, was he still watching her? As he began to speak, the thought consumed her. 'They're watching me.' The weight of the observing eyes buried in her past, of her parents, of her captors, of her handlers all bear down on her watching. Watching. WATCHING. WHY WON'T THEY STOP WATCHING.

That boy's eyes had done something that not even the harshest of winters nor the sharpest of blades have ever achieved. The Frozen Titan's shell was cracked.

She was never one for crying particularly, but she felt the cord snap in her psyche, quickly taking off to the forest to find her perfection once again.

She shed no tears.

She felt no pain.

She only existed.

* * *

She waited until her composure had returned before returning to her barracks to rest, only to find a small huddle of the girls around her bunk, asking in her cold authoritative tone what the hell they were doing, they parted and she saw her axes resting on her bed, which she now realised she had left on the training grounds when she ran off. Like a coward. It was only after she picked them up that she realised it must've been that boy who brought them here, she turned and quickly asked who brought them here, knowing the name but not the face, and she was met by the imposing Mikasa Ackerman, telling her it was her friend, Armin Artlet, before demanding to know if she had hurt him in sparring. She bluntly explained what happened, quietly making a mental note to thank him later on. And thank him she did.

It was a quiet note, left by Armin's plate as she walked by him in the Mess Hall. It would not be the last time she met Armin Artlet. In due time, she began to get sick of saving him constantly from massively unfair sparring partners, making the decision to train him personally as she could tell that she was one of the few who could figure him out and make him an effective soldier. She was justifiably frustrated at the boy's natural weakness, but she had to admire his resolve and most of all his mind. Under her guidance, the boy grew and grew in strengths, using his skill set to survive, passing his combat certification, if only through a miracle she assumed. And it was no surprise to her that he had begun to train in the spear (She knew which was his as he could remove the metal tip of it) as she could always tell that he preferred to refrain from violence and killing when he could.

She personally couldn't tell the difference but had grown enough respect for the boy enough to accept it. Her own had gone with no difficulty whatsoever, shifting to her dual knives which she had kept stored under her mattress of her bed ever since she enlisted, natural instincts flowing through her as she felt the worn familiar grips in her palms, twirling them experimentally.

* * *

Dragon Fire Mobility Gear was harder for her to master, as she had come to think of herself as belonging on the ground, no fanciful feats, but unsurprisingly, she had to be proved wrong again by that blond haired runt. He was the first to show her what it was like to fly by making a safety net that could be put up below her whilst she practiced with him. It wasn't a permanent measure and soon Annie had such control over it that she was leaving Armin far behind most days.

She hadn't fully been able to put her finger on why, but she had actually grown quite fond of the boy, to the point that earlier in the year, it would've been on Snoggletog she supposed, when they were outside the Main Mess Hall, avoiding all the excessive drinking and the loud noise. As they sat on the rickety wooden porch, soft snow beginning to drift down from the sky, Annie found herself at ease. Maybe it was the ale she had had, or the soft, excited tones of the tipsy boy next to her, but something that night was different, as she allowed herself to slightly lower the edges of the walls that she had built up around herself so that she could take in the abnormal, and pontetial sole moment of peace she had felt in years properly, without the pessimism that had become second nature to her. Listening to him, she let a small smile appear on her face as he spoke in wonder of the world around him like the stars and the moon. She never thought he had noticed that smile, too preoccupied with the world around him, but he had and had yet to forget it.


	16. Chapter 16 - Crystal

Chapter 16 – Annie (Arc 3)

As the final stage of her Dragon Fire Gear assessment came to a close, her breath only slightly panting as she awaited her score. When she had been confirmed to be ranked second in the year, she held herself in complete silence until she knew she was alone on the path back to the main camp, she allowed herself a small grin once more in self-satisfaction.

* * *

As she walked back towards the barracks, seeing her dorm filled with girls like Sasha and Ymir packing furiously as they were to begin their expeditions to find their dragons soon; she decided to avoid the fuss for now and walked to Armin's generally quieter cabin. Not knowing who was in the room at the time, she knocked quietly before hearing an uncharacteristically frustrated and muffled

"Come in"

As she opened the door, she saw the blond mop of hair lying face down into his bed, raising a small eyebrow at the boy, both somewhat concerned and amused, but as he began talking about his choice of dragons and how frustrated he was, her once raised brow returned to its resting position as she leaned against the wall, the boy's ranting filling her ears.

She didn't mind this in all honesty. It was nice to hear him talk, he had a nice voice. But it was more the words he was saying, the wonder that was in those eyes all those years ago still burning brightly in his speaking. As he pondered where he should go, memories of Armin's face lighting up as he spoke of his hometown and the forest he would visit with his grandfather flitted through her mind.

"Well for starters you could look up when someone comes into your room"

When he looked up, she saw his eyes widen like shields as he scrambled to pull himself upright. Seeing the nervous glint in Armin's shoulders as they became rigid, she decided to separate the chasm of space between them, setting herself on the boy's bed before turning to him, explaining to him what he needed to do; Shutting down his resistance and doubts as he slowly began to accept, or at least listen to her advice. She didn't really understand all the feelings Armin felt but it was enough to piss her off that he didn't acknowledge his strength. It was only when he thanked her that she realised she might've come off a bit blunter than she had expected. But, she thought, he seemed to have responded to it well enough so she decided to drop the subject.

* * *

Looking at him as his eyes were cast downward in the silence between them, she realised that his body was shivering again. As the realisation, a sarcastic thought passed through her mind. Her nicknames had always been 'Ice Queen' ever since the first day of training, (Not that it bothered her, just some idiots didn't get that she simply didn't always feel the urge to go out of her way to make conversation when she didn't need to.) and if she really was that cold, this shivering boy should be nowhere near her.

Deciding to take action, she began to loosen the buckling of her upper Dragon Fire Gear, much to Armin's surprise, confusion and… something of a blush? Seeing the worry over her somewhat uncharacteristic actions, she reassured him that nothing of that sort was happening, seeing him visibly loosen up.

She slipped the tunic over her head, feeling the once coarse fabric brush over her hair as she pulled it off before shoving it into Armin's hands as they rested on his lap; It felt strange without it, she'd regularly worn it for at least two years, and she felt peculiar without it. But as Armin's eyes lit up in a way she'd only seen when the outside world came up, she thought that it was worth it, besides, she could always buy another one.

The real surprise for both of them however, was when Armin threw his arms around her. Stunned, she tensed up, instincts screaming at her to the throw him off and onto the unforgiving planks of wood that made up the floor. But within seconds, she was able to quell her violent instincts, realising that she didn't quite know what to do now. Deciding to experiment, she reached her arm out to replicate the hug that he was giving her. It was odd. She didn't know if she liked it. But as she left, saying goodbye to him, she felt herself loosen up slightly, feeling a bit better and her body a bit lighter.

She would not see him again until she began her own journey to find her dragon, seeing him hop onto a small carriage, but being too far away for him to have seen her. Well, she'd said goodbye already back at the cabin so no real difference, she thought as she saw the ocean's crescents lapping in the distance. Noting that it was time for her to depart as well, she placed her essentials into the pouches and sacks which she would carry, strapping her knives to her belt. Even though she had a feeling that she would not be needing them where she was going. Back to her hometown.

* * *

Annie decided to walk up the beaten track that led out of the heart of the city, craning her head upwards as she passed the walls, remembering the hatred for them that had once surrounded her, and how now they were her greatest defenders (Apart from herself obviously) Huh. Fate is an ironic thing.

Hours passed until she finally reached the edge of Berk's borders. After scouring the villages for about an hour, picking up some extra bread at one of the markets, she eventually found a local stable that had a horse that was up for rent, taking the small summation of silver that she had set aside for a mount.

Eyeing the horse, she made note of the pitch black eyes that seemed to bore into her own like a Whispering Death, a chestnut coat that seemed to shimmer like water as it stomped its hoof. Reaching her hand out and taking its reigns, she felt it buck and panic as it looked at her as if she wasn't quite human. Realising what a problem this could grow into, she moved to calm the beast, but it's legs still frantically beat with the utmost urgency. Feeling a sense of de ja vu, she remembered the first time that she had to ride a horse in training, how it bucked and reeled away from her.

At first she had tried to control it with strict orders, but these never worked. Frustrated, she had sat down at the edge of the training square before hearing Reiner call out to her, telling her that he'd help with her issue. Reiner had stepped forward slowly and spoke softly to the Stallion, quietly and with care in his voice.

So unlike the Armoured Titan of the First Pit that she had heard of in whispered tones by the guards, but eerily similar to the boy of the village she once knew. He slowly rubbed calming circles into the horse's neck as he handed her the reigns; feeling the change in control the horse froze again, but this time reached out her hand and left it there for the horse to choose to take, eventually pushing its head forward in cautious acceptance.

* * *

Deciding to try the same trick that had worked then, she raised a pale hand to the hazel horses' head. As she felt the snout press against her palm, feeling the warmth emanate from it. As she pulled herself up into the saddle she had decided to count up the marks on her crystal, now on a necklace, as she often did.

As her body rocking in synchronisation with the horse's gait, she began absentmindedly, she ran her thumb slowly across the destroyed surface; each notch an axe to a throat, each scratch a stab through the heart, each tally, a crushed windpipe. All of those memories, still lay just beneath the surface, begging to be broken free from their cold prison that they may wreak havoc in the forest of her mind. She felt herself being drawn into the whirlpool that was threatening to drown her, the crystal serving as her life line back to the present reality.

Turning her eyes back in front of her taking in her surroundings she realised that her path was verging on the edge of the coastline as the waves softly lapped against the shore. She took a moment, pulling her horse to a slow stop as she rested on the ridge of the mound, eyes scanning over the horizon, making out the minute form of her island which she had not visited in years. Home.


	17. Chapter 17 - Cold Water

Chapter 17 – Annie (Arc 4)

She left the stallion with the dockworker she had come to know from her travels around to the other nearby islands, asking him to return it to which the man closed his wrinkled eyes, his beard being moved softly by the nod of his head. Getting onto the boat, she felt a wave of anxiety wash over her as she realised this would be the first time she had returned home in years; forcing it back down, she felt herself rebalance as she found a comfort in the rocking of the boat.

Knowing that it would be some time, she quickly let go of her sack, but kept her blades on her waist, letting her head rest against the wooden edge of the ship's hull as the spray from the chilling waters drifted onto her hair. She knew that it was safe to rest on these ships; the captains having been retired veterans who knew well enough the dangers of a threatened young solider. As her mind drifted to sleep, her thoughts wandered back to the island.

* * *

In her dreams, she saw it's soft pebbled shores swishing as the waves washed over them, the woodland near the coastline, all leading to a vast flat area of farming land. She thought back to how she, Reiner and Bertholdt, mere days after they had killed for their freedom, had decided to clear the rats out of their nest in their home, silently slaughtering the lazy troops with ease, reaching its shores at dusk and being able to leave at midnight.

They considered seeing their parents, if only to show their anger at them, but Bertholdt couldn't bring himself to do it, Reiner stood beside him in solidarity, leaving Annie to walk the familiar but so long forgotten path that led to her old home. As the hut came into view, she felt something different about it, the natural atmosphere of the building emanated an entirely different, somewhat warmer one than she had known as a child, and only upon looking inside she realised why.

Sitting next to a line of three or so cots, was a family that she knew not, unable to recognise even a single one of them. But there they sat, happy and laughing. As a family. Annie couldn't recall even one memory with her parents that came at all near to what was before her. As she allowed her thoughts to swirl into memories, she hadn't noticed that the youngest child must have seen her shadow as it stared at her, confused, but not afraid. It was an odd sensation that she had forgotten. Being observed without malice but out of pure curiosity.

Cursing herself for nearly being caught she quickly returned to Bertholdt and Reiner, awaiting her at the mouth of the guard's outpost. As she stormed through the buildings entrance, she quickly pushed past the two who deftly stepped out of her way. Jerking her blade from its sheath, she dug it into the timber of the wall, her hands trembling with rage as she began scoring into it the symbol of the Titans. The Flayed Giant's Head. Beneath it, she scored the words, "Go. Never return to this island. It is ours". Silently putting her blade away, she turned, arctic eyes locking onto the pair's and walked with certainty back to the gate, eyes filled with determination to get her revenge now that her hometown was safe.

* * *

The boat jolted as its hull knocked into the dock and Annie out of her dream. Taking a moment to catch her breath from the memory and dream, she glared daggers at the captain who quickly stared back at her, giving no ground. Realising she was getting nowhere in this pedantic conflict, Annie slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way off the boat, paying the ferryman's toll as she stepped onto the platform.

Looking at the islands horizon, she began to walk to her old home, hoping to meet the people who lived there properly. She knew that she was still a monster, still the Frozen Titan; but her time in the cadet corps had helped her to grow as more than just that, to the point that she felt willing enough to try and be civil. She knew that it was mostly for show, but she somewhat secretly revelled in it as it let her feel normal; If only for a while.

As the dirt gave way for her to walk along it's beaten path, she decided to look at the island around her. It was strange, she had almost forgotten how beautiful this place was, the fields of crops shimmering in the northern sun as did the cold waters around the land she stood on. It was only when she felt that familiar sensation of being watched that she realised that she was not the only one travelling this path.

Yes, the road before her was clear and the thick fields around her barren; it wasn't until she looked upwards to the clouds that she saw the faint shadow slowly hovering in the sky. Judging from its size and speed, she could instantly tell it was a dragon, her observation getting even closer to her as did the abnormally large spines that flew from the skies that sink into the ground like a wolfs teeth into a kill. A Titan Wing Deadly Nadder. Great, she thought, gritting her teeth. How convenient.


	18. Chapter 18 - Frost

Chapter 18 – Annie (Arc 5)

Jerking herself out of the way, she quickly glared back to the sky, cautious and aware that she was in danger. But she had a feeling that the beast above her wasn't aware that it was targeting a beast of even greater danger than itself.

As it plummeted from the sky, a blur of icy white and frozen blue, Annie leaped out of its path, watching as it hauled itself out of the nose dive, opting to gracefully land on the other side of the path, it's talons softly digging into the ground. As it landed, Annie couldn't help but think that it was beautiful. Dangerous, volatile and ready to kill her, yes, but still somewhat intriguing.

Its tail hummed in anticipation as it's spines stood on end, ready to attack, legs poised as if a wolfs and wings reared like sails. It wasn't until her wandering eyes had reached its face that she realised the cause of its current state.

Cracked blood sat on the region beneath its eye, with fresh crimson started to leak out of the deep jagged wound. It's sharp, pointed teeth, stained with still warm blood and it was then that Annie pieced together the story just as she had managed to figure out her own past. This would've been a slave dragon to the Hunters, used as bait to draw in other dragons judging by its bruised ankles and jaw. Her glassy pupils roaming further, she discovered a new twist in the plot of the dragon's past which evidently lead to their present situation; It must have attacked them, been injured and escaped, evidently taking at least one of the bastards out as it ran as she noted the slickness of the blood on its fangs. As much as she hated to do, she realised that she would have to make herself not look like a threat. Make sure that it knows she's not looking to hurt it or whatever it was that old drunk teacher had said back in that classroom.

Gods damn this… She thought as she tucked the weapons slowly next to the small of her back, she saw the dragon's head twist and turn as if perplexed. Allowing her eyes to return to it, Annie saw that no threat had reduced, simply an addition of confusion, cursing herself and her soft approached training as the dragon lunged forward at her.

She made a quick breaking dive to her right, landing on the stony side of the path, wincing as she felt something similar to some small bone break in there. Crap. Looking down, she tried to figure out what the actual issue wa-

Double crap.

Her eyes now being pulled away from her body and towards her Dragon Fire Gear, now broken as a result of the impact, cursing as she pulled the release cord on the weighty equipment, she knew that she couldn't redraw her weapon yet, lest the dragon become even more enraged. But she also knew that she refused to die this day, dropping, then jolting back up as the dragon's tail span towards her, darting side to side as it fired its quills, each evasion taking her closer to her target, who now roared, each reverberation cutting into her bones; if this damn lizard didn't calm down it'd have to find out why she was given the title Dragon Slayer she thought. But after hearing that cry, and seeing the glint in its eye, she realised this thing wasn't going to back down. Shit.

Her hand threw itself around her body quickly, her blade cutting through the air like a dragon itself until she realised that she now held the tip of the blade at it's already damaged eye, ready to pierce its brain and put it down.

Something of a pity… it was rather beautiful, she supposed; Before quickly cursing her hesitation, glancing up and seeing that it had been able to position its wing's knife like talon at her throat, halting himself just short of the pale girl's exposed throat.

* * *

As the two froze, both fighting for breath, they appeared calmly observed their situation, realising that they were locked in a two-way checkmate. As Annie's eyes looked downwards and made contact with the Nadder's she allowed her lips to part and let the kind of words that she thought only Armin or someone like that Marco guy would've ever used slip through.

'You're just like me. Aren't you." She faintly whispered, traces of remembrance, sadness and understanding infecting her words.

As the dragon stared back at her, it's cold pupils flickering over her poised, tense form, seeing the pain inflicted upon her held back in her teeth's gritting, the control of her strength in the frozen stillness and control of the knife in her hand, the distrust painted in her icy eyes.

"Those bastards. Hunters. They took everything from me… And now they've done it to you too…" She continued, her chest still pounding as her heart slammed against her ribs, forcing her words to slowly halt as she fought for control of her lungs.

As the two continued to breath raggedly, the dragon slowly retracted it's wing, not quite trusting the human in front of him, nor quite sensing that she'd be a threat. As the talon pulled away from her throat, Annie slowly reached and brought her knife back into its resting place.

She knew that whilst the Nadder would not attack her, she knew that it did not trust her. Taking a step back she began to speaking,

"I know you don't trust me. You're distrustful of humans a whole" Her words now coming out of her mouth without fully registering them. "Ha! Maybe you're right to be! We're pretty shitty on the whole" A somewhat irritated grin forming on her face as she realised; She'd spent way too much time with Ymir, the damn girl's sarcasm had rubbed off on her.

As the laughter she had projected died down, a tense silence filled the air between them. Too damn tense, she thought. As much as it pained her to say it, if only for the amount of time that her bunkmates would rave about it to her, she'd have to… ugh… Well, here goes nothing…

"I… I want…" She said, before realising that she needed to be gentle with the dragon or it might freak out and kill her and all that,

"Rather…I would like to help you… It's your choice. I'm fine with it either way but you need medical attention, a place to stay and some damn company you lonely reptile" Seeing the Nadder's eyes narrow at the comment, she continued, "And I need a comrade to ride with. Someone who can fight. Someone who won't run at the first sign of danger. Someone who's out for revenge against the same bastards I am… So I'd think this is a good deal for the both of us to work together."

The dragon's confused glint grew in its eyes again alongside it's doubtful pessimism as it looked up and down Annie again, scouring for any hint of a lie hidden in her body's language; yet finding none. Then, and only then, did the Nadder swiftly turn away from her eyes and looked back over its shoulder cautiously, jerking its head towards the ocean before beginning to stalk in its direction.

Annie, seeing the resolve in the dragon's eye, took a moment for her brain to process the importance of what she'd done before walking to follow it. Whilst yes, she was proud of what she'd just done, she quickly noted that the dragon's cold pissed off exterior could be an issue in what was to be a trusting partnership.

Huh. So this is how Artlet must've felt this whole time. She's going to have to give the runt more credit for his endurance than she has been.

* * *

As the two chain broken slaves made way for the water, she turned to the Nadder, telling him that she needed a name to call him by, as her stared daggers back at her, she remembered her old nickname "Ice Queen' Letting a smile flicker through her eyes, as she told him

"Oi. I need a name to call you… How about Frost? That good with you?"

No reply. Just as expected. But matter how much the cold, enigmatic dragon thought he'd kept it hidden, Annie was able to see the glimmer of excitement dance through its body as it's quills twitched.

And so, as the Frozen Titan and the Frosted Dragon stepped into the dirt in the training grounds of the Academy, she allowed herself a small sigh of relief as she had been able to make it back without any real injuries.

After her brief moment of introspection, she purposefully returned to her quarters, telling the dragon to wait outside, but deciding firmly against restraining it. As she finished packing her spare worn out clothes, she moved to place her blades by her bedside, as was now near ritual for her, she couldn't help but notice the small note left softly on the pillow reading 'Welcome back!' So the little runt had gotten a dragon before her, recognising the boy's softer hand. Tch. She should've expected no less from his mind, she thought with a smile.

But as the implications of the note dawning on her, her eyes widened and her jaw tightened as she sprinted back outside to get to her dragon befor-

Too late.


	19. Chapter 19 - Thawing

Chapter 19 – Annie (Arc 6)

There sat in the receding sun was a smaller Stormcutter playing in front of the irritated Nadder who sat, glaring daggers in her direction, ignoring the owl-like, annoyingly playful dragon as Annie stepped forwards.

Seeing the smaller girl step into the courtyard, The Stormcutter scrambled to Frost's side, entering into a haste poise of majesty that they were known for. But it still had a glimmer of mischief in her eye that made her question before realising… oh gods… so this must be…

Knowing the situation, her eyes scoured the surrounding area for the bright blond tousle of hair, narrowing softly as they found it, a small grin spreading across her face as she walked around Frost before she returned to her natural observant expression.

As she made her way around the quills of the Nadder's tail, she looked at the boy, his eyes now rejuvenated with wonder and a new light of fun in them as they met hers. Oh fuck it, she thought, I deserve something after all that shit getting Frost on my side. Slowly moving her feet forwards, she took off her neutral mask and let Artlet see the smirk that she had hidden just moments ago.

Seeing her face light up, bounds beyond what he'd come to know of her, he pushed himself onto his feet, rushing towards her; Annie could feel the aggression emanating from Frost as a low guttural growl grew in its throat as the boy came closer and closer to the girl, but with a calming quiet outstretched hand in his direction from Annie, he decided to disregard the boy as a threat.

As the boy came closer and closer to her, she decided to try something new that had yet to come to her, putting her arms out in his direction, causing his face to morph into inquisitive curiosity. Before tripping and landing face first into her arms. Taken aback from the impact of the boy, but still standing, Annie's smirk grew into one of her first genuine, if somewhat awkward looking, smiles as she realised how stupid and ridiculous the whole situation was; Both their dragons watching the two intently, the Stormcutter with curiosity and fascination and Frost in veiled interest, just watching out of the corner of his eye.

Her arms thrown awkwardly around his torso as his ribs pulsed from his own soft laughter at the situation. The knives strapped to her back feeling as if they weren't as heavy anymore. The cold, frosted over lens through which she always saw the world, now finally clear as vibrant yellow hair rested now next to her cheek.

* * *

For the first time in her life, Annie realised that she had a taken a leap of faith and it had paid off. Realising that this wasn't actually as bad as she had once thought it would be, she decided to let her frozen shell begin to thaw; not for Armin and _certainly_ not for her moody dragon, but because she finally realised that maybe she didn't need them for herself so much anymore.


	20. Chapter 20 - Armour

Chapter 20 – Reiner – (Arc 1)

Reiner Braun has lived a life divided, his mind fragmented in two; The Warrior and the Boy. Both halves constantly at war with each other but as dusk settles on an eternal battle, who will rise once more with the sun?

Reiner Braun lived on a small lumbering island, it was a simple life if he was honest. He had a strength that was innate to him, but lacked the natural anger to use it, living his life docilely alongside his father and his close friends, Annie, Bertholdt, Marcel and Mina. And in all honesty, he was alright with it. Happy. Peaceful.

If only he could go back to that he thought as he sat in the cold pit, rain soaking his already torn shirt, dirt staining his trousers. Pulling the mace from the mangled remains of his most recent opponent's skull, he lifted it above him, the light glimmering from the cold sun that broke through the house of hell that he had come to call home. Hearing the wooden gears of the gate behind him grind together as it began to open, he let his weapon drop to his side, gripping it loosely as he stalked back into his cell. He reminisced to when he had first entered this place: Alone. Confused. Scared.

It wasn't until he had been thrown down into the dirt that he realised the reality of his situation. And Reiner's parents had always taught him one thing:

'You know that reality won't change. You know that you won't change. You just have to accept it'

Looking before him, and seeing a thin red path stretched out at his feet, beckoning him to follow it, he accepted his life now. Knowing the way before him could only be walked down on an ever growing mound of corpses, he was conflicted, part of his mind screaming, begging and clawing to return back to his simpler life, not having to do this.

That desperate part was crushed under the iron fist of the steeled Warrior, offering no freedom as it hurled it's pathetic counterpart into the deepest roots of his psyche, with even greater strength than the boy's fist as they were thrown into the guts and skulls of the challengers to his will of survival. As he tore into his fellow slave soldiers, he knew that he had fragmented. Shattered. Broken in half by the world around him. This he knew.

He knew that even in the darkness and the cold that his hope still existed, but it was kept chained down, just like the dragons brought before him in the arena. Gronckles. Nadders. Changewings. Nightmares. He had had them all. And each and every one unleashed in his cage was killed without mercy, without remorse from the warrior.

He knew, as he stepped out of the blood crusted hole, his face, half burnt by dragon fire and his arms ripped to shreds by sharp talons, that this had become his life. Fight. Kill. Ignore the pain. It doesn't exist. And the Warrior loved that, eventually taking the title given to it by its enslavers: The Armoured Titan of the First Pit. It loved the title. Made him feel invincible. Untouchable. Immortal. And it was a lie.

Its pride was as it often is, his downfall, for the enemies of the present, wielding weapons and rage, dragon fire and monstrosity were no match for him; But the small knife, long forgotten, buried in the past. That was the chink in his armour. That was his weakness. No rebellion nor uprising to quell for the time being. Just an abnormal absence. A lack of moral objection. The Warrior revelled in it, believing he had truly slain the boy's petty delusions.

It wasn't until he stood in the central pit, predatory eyes sketching over the forms of the people the boy hand once knew, what were their names, Annie? Bert? He frankly didn't care, believing them to be nothing. Before feeling it.

A small blade, skewered through the one hidden chink in his arm; blindsided with shock, the Warrior turned to see Reiner, his hope, his empathy and his emotions, unerring in their glare and more importantly, in his rage before his towering form buckled.

As Reiner's eyes flitted back to his now hardened childhood friends, standing before him, he felt a weight drop onto his shoulders, weight of the Armour that his psyche had worn for years as the guilt of all of his actions hit him with full force.

As he knelt in the mud, rain falling onto him, he saw Annie's form rise, seeing her fuming rage as she glared upwards. Realising what she was doing, hearing the ringing resonate in his concise, he forced his legs up, his broader form rising as he put his hand, with as much purpose as he could muster, on Annie's shoulder, glancing to his side and looking into the chestnut eyes of Bertholdt that he hadn't seen for years and feeling his resolve strengthen. Following the path that Annie's sight walked, he joined her, locking gazes with the cold masks of his captors. As the metal fell around them, he walked forward, gripping his calloused palms around the haunting grip. He hated this weapon but knew that it was now his to bear.

May the Gods themselves have mercy on those who first put it in his hands. Because he won't.

As they walked the path together on the northern road, Reiner reached into the depths of his concise, feeling for the cold metal surface of the Armoured Warrior. As he found it once more, he drew it's bloodied and broken corpse up to his face, demanding as he held back his anger how many were killed by this monster using his hands. As the broken and hoarse whisper reached his ear, his grip on the now madly chuckling, broken memory broke as it fell into the abyss of his mind, the life finally leaving his already cold eyes.


	21. Chapter 21 - Stitch

Chapter 21 – Reiner (Arc 2)

As Reiner entered Berk alongside his allies as refugees of the war waged outside its waters, he felt a sense of ease that had long since become lost to him; perhaps it was the cold Nordic air being drawn into his lungs or the towering bronze sculptures filling his eyes, or maybe it was just the reassuring presence of Berthold's hand resting in his. Maybe it was all of these and more. Or maybe it was just the chance of a clean slate, free of the warrior, in control of his thoughts and his actions.

Living in back alleys, off of scraps wasn't actually as bad as it sounded to everyone they told that piece of his past too. Both Annie and him had been hardened by their imprisoned existence, living off of nothing more than crusts of bread and drops of rainwater. Their bodies had grown to thrive in the environment, even if Reiner's mind had become somewhat perverted. The same cannot be said for Bertholdt.

As he sat, his thin body shivering to his core, he felt Reiner's stronger arm come around his shoulder, giving a meek smile to the boy now sat beside him who was trying to give him as much heat as he could; draping his own overtunic over the taller boy's chest, letting him warm his hands in Reiner's. Bertholdt sat against the cold brick wall as it sapped away at his heat, feeling weariness overtake him as his body ceased to shiver.

When Reiner saw his eyes flutter shut, he softly shook the boy by the shoulders to wake him back up. Then he shook harder. And harder. Until he was staring into the boy's vacant expression, crying his name without restraint, his breaking yelling only ceasing when heard the brown eyed boy softly whisper

"Hey… Can you tone down the yelling? It's hurting… My ears…"

"Shit man, I'm so sorry, we're going to fix this okay? We'll get you some help, An- Annie!" He shouted, his eyes never leaving Bertholdt's "I promise, you'll pull through, I'll make su-"

"Maybe… You shouldn't…" Came the croaking reply

The stunned silence filling the air as soft flakes of snow began to drift down from the clouds above them

"What in Thor's name are you talking about Bert?" he said jokingly, the desperation leaking through in his voice "Come on, it's getting to your head, we'll ge-"

His words being jerked to a halt as Bert grabbed his collar and yanked him closer to the ground that the taller boy now laid on

"No. You are going to shut up and listen this once. You deserve to know the kind of monster you're trying to save" Reiner's expression filled with shock and surprise as Bertholdt's voice began to crack "Please… Just listen…"

Steeling himself, Reiner locked his jaw, firmly saying

"Alright Bert. I'm listening"

Bertholdt's face relaxed in satisfaction as he began to tell the tale of his life

"You remember it right?... Hometown…" He started, eyes glowing with reminiscent memories of the past, "I wasn't a very assertive guy abck then. I always just followed you guys and your leads. Don't get me wrong it was great! It's jus-" He exclaimed before roughly coughing, throwing his whole body into convulsions before he grabbed for air for what seemed an eternity before returning to his story

"It's just that; well, when those soldiers took us, away from home. I think I let myself do the only thing I had ever done. Follow"

"I guess the only difference being that when they put me in there, told me who to kill, pure and simply with my bare hands. Being able to do it without having to shoulder the responsibility…I found myself enjoying it. Maybe some part of me always knew that it was wrong I don't even know anymore… but at the time, and actually even still, it felt good, like for the first time I was actua-"

Reiner forcefully threw his arms around the boy he thought he had known for those 4 years. For those four years, the only thing keeping him alive in his mind as a boy, not a Warrior, was the thought of being able to grow up and live life alongside his friend who he thought he had known. He couldn't bring himself to listen to the boy's words anymore,

"Shut up… Don't say anything else… Just wake up… Please…"

Begging, pleading to the cold shell before feeling an icy touch on his shoulder as Annie showed him the same solidarity he had shown her in the pit. Eyes never leaving the taller boy's as he watched the light fade from them. Hands never breaking contact as he felt the warmth fade. Raw tears clawing down his face. The innocent Boy of the small town dying with the boy who made his life worth living. The Armoured Titan still lying dead and faded. Both being stitched together into something new. Something of both the light and the dark. Something of balance.

The Soldier.


	22. Chapter 22 - Mace

Chapter 22 – Reiner (Arc 3)

As Annie and himself enrolled in the Cadet corps, he allowed his mind to reform itself. Broken fragments guiding his actions and thoughts, the rage of the Armoured Titan guiding his axes as he trained for the day he would be able to take from the Titanian what they had taken from; Everything that they loved. Strands of the delicate Boy's compassion stoking fires of compassion and care for each and every recruit around him, guarding them from the wrath of drillmasters as he lifted the Artlet boy's weighted pack from him as they ran in the gruelling rain, before being very much surprised that the thinner boy merely gritted his teeth and grabbed his sack back. Impressive, no wonder Annie had taken an interest in the kid. He had fire.

As Reiner continued through the training that was, even for him, pure and unaltered torture, he began to come at peace with the thoughts in his mind; the two swirling forces that had once threatened to draw him down into a whirlpool now keeping him softly afloat.

* * *

As he reached the end of the brutal hand to hand training, passing his test as the sun dipped over the edge of the sky, he had decided to put down the axes that he had been given upon his first day of training, smiling softly as he still remembered crying over Bertholdt, now wondering if he'd be proud at how Reiner was turning out.

Reaching into the small storage case that he had managed to save up for throughout the months, wiping the dust off of its long unopened lid. Taking the key from his necklace, he inserted it into the rusty lock, hearing the small pins click as it opened. Looking into it, he felt himself physically wince as the weapon that had brought so much death lay before him. His long unused iron Mace.

Steeling himself, imagining Annie's cold stare dryly judging him to help bring him to military attention, he gingerly reached in, hands passing over that rough grip of leather and long crusted blood. As his eyes followed the line of the metal from its pommel to its shaft and finally reaching its notch covered head. After seeing Annie scratching her small crystal and understanding the meaning behind them as they walked up the windblown road that led to Berk's walls, he had decided to do the same, picking a small rock he found by the side of the path that had a fine enough edge to make a notch into the metal. Each marking took time to make, time and effort; and he knew that it would be these that he would need to put into atoning for their deaths. His fingers now tracing over those cuts as he had done after making them all, he began softly counting in remembrance 1… 2… 3… 4… 5…

* * *

It wouldn't be until the serenading calls of the Midnight Drakes, a smaller Terrible Terror that lived near their area, resonated in his ears that his calloused finger crossed over the final notch.

Pulling his fingertips away from the metal swiftly, he felt a pain budding as he saw that it had made a small nick in him. A small grin of laughter playing on his face as he thought it was as if this was the weapon's payback for all the cuts he had made on it. Hell, he probably deserved it, he thought. Quickly wrapping the open blood, he looked out the window, seeing the fire lights and lamps long blown out in the cabins around him, but the soft sound of laughter between friends, whispers between lovers and conversations of comradery still drifted through the air to his ears.

As these thoughts filled his head, he placed the metal back into its case as it had been out for long enough this night, crashing into his cot and allowing himself to drift to sleep in an ease that, for once, he actually found comforting.

* * *

He had believed that learning to use some fancy wires and ropes on a few gears couldn't be anywhere near as difficult as learning to survive with only a boot knife against 3 other fighters. He was evidentially proved wrong as he found himself suspended upside down from the practice rig, fits of snickers and giggles flitting around the crowd nearby.

Taking matters into his own hands, he took in the stupidity and absurdness of the situation; he realised how stupid he must look and letting out a deep and warm laugh that left his abdominals aching and his lungs pulling for breath even more so than the gear attached to his yak leather harness. Waiting until the short bursts of silenced laughter to subside, he eventually reached for the wires themselves, pulling himself up forcibly, blood rushing from his head quickly, the only vision he saw before blacking out was the crowd before him, and for a moment, he thought he had felt Bert shyly smiling at him from the back of the crowd. Even though he knew that Bertholdt was dead and he was just hallucinating; as his body pulled closer and closer to the unforgiving ground's surface, he felt that smile begin to spread on his lips, until he was evidently knocked out.

* * *

Surprisingly, after that incident, Reiner's evaluation rankings in the equipment began to excel as he was finally able to reach a balance between the brute strength of his body and the mental discipline which he knew he had, he was just never able to properly control his body with it before. But as he ascended into the ranks of the top 5 in the cadet corps at the time, it was pure evidence that he had improved massively alongside many of his other peers; celebrating with a great many of them on the second year's Snoggletog.

He didn't like to admit it, but at that particular year's festival he ended up getting more drunk than he would like to recall, and as a result may have done extremely embarrassing things such as wolf whistling Annie and Armin outside. He still grimaces as he remembers his drunk self, who ended up giving the smaller blonde girl Krista all the wrong messages, telling her that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, received, in turn, a very much physical retaliation from her dance partner of the time, Ymir; All this before he crawled away to his cabin and fell asleep, tears silently streaming down his face as memories of Bert sifted up through his mangled mind.

The next morning, he had gone to Krista, with a splitting headache and apologised with every drop of genuine regret and guilt that he felt, his old wounds not quite yet healed enough for anything of that sort anyways. And the pain of that headache was even before Annie had kicked his legs from underneath him on the walk back to his hut, telling him to mind his own business.

As he stayed there, his face lying in the dirt he realised; "Yup. Definitely deserved that." Before promptly returning to his cabin, locking and barring the door, and hiding out of fear of retribution for anything else his drunk self may have done.

Yeah, he thought, looking back at the memory, definitely not after doing that again ever, before peacefully wandering back to his cabin to relax for even just a while.


	23. Chapter 23 - Hallucination

Chapter 23 – Reiner (Arc 4)

Reminiscing over the last two years, Reiner sat on the end of his bunk, iron emblem of his Dragon Fire gear certification in hand and his head filled with wandering thoughts. As he heard the energetic conversations coming from the other bunks about what dragon they wanted, Reiner stretched his back, lying down on the bunk, resting his head on his arms. He had seen Christa and Ymir leaving the training grounds, going to find dragons together he supposed. Oh! He had seen Annie leave the day before, but she was acting somewhat different- her path, her eyes and her body language told him all about the destination where she would end up, even if she didn't know it herself yet. Their homeland.

Whilst he couldn't bring himself to go back, even if with her there for support, he could allow his thoughts to wander even further back, to the adventures they had had around the thick forests, pebbly coasts and rough walled stone valleys. As the image of rock entered his mind, he remembered his younger self chasing after Marcel, Mina and Bertholdt, stamping his feet as he ran, pretending to be a Catastrophic Quaken.

As the thought hit him like a battering ram, his soft reminiscent smile grew into a wolf like grin as he thought around the odd and spontaneous thought; What if could train that dragon? He had absolutely no idea how he'd do it safely, or even ride it at all, what with the whole becoming a ball of death and throwing itself into the damn earth.

He **also** had no idea if they were even trainable in the first place. Evidently, there was a lot he didn't know. Deciding to try and find out, he walked over to Armin's cabin, the boy with all the books and all the knowledge you could ask for, figuring that he might be able to find out.

But upon walking in that direction, he found himself doing a complete 180 as he saw the smaller statured pale blonde girl knock on the door of, and then entering his room. His head still sometimes ringing from the damage inflicted by the last time he'd come between those, his body reacting to the imminent and potential danger before his mind even realised. Deciding that he would just have to do without, he returned to his cabin, with no idea if what he had just set out to do was even possible, but he at least had to try, didn't he?

* * *

Knowing that for him, it would not be that much of a trip, he packed light. It would only take him a day or two he supposed, as he had a friend in one of the higher mines in the nearby mountain and remembered the time they sat in the tavern and he told Reiner the way that they used dragons to help them in the lower mines, near all exclusively boulder classes. And he now figured, they must have, or at least know where to find, a Quaken.

As he passed the outer gate, doors slamming behind him, he wrapped the scarf around his neck, pulling it closer to him as he felt the cold embrace him. Walking along the road, one foot in front of the other, he felt his mind begin to wander before pulling it back into balance, knowing that if he let his alertness slip, he could slip on the icy paths that led to the high mountain tunnel entrances as well. And that would not be ideal; he refused to die before he had taken out as many Titanians as he humanly could, most definitely refusing to be taken out by some frozen water on a rocky path or a jut in a cliff that he didn't realise was there.

The air grew colder as he ascended higher and higher up the mountain, he decided to stop and look out at the horizon, seeing the tall steely walls surrounded his home, how they were its amour; Unbreakable. Driven. Safety. His eyes pulling further out, now watching the softly shimmering ocean and the small island in the distant, wondering at ho-

He shouldn't have stopped. Definitely should not have stopped.

* * *

He cursed himself for not paying attention, almost bursting out in laughter again at how crazy it all was, the danger of his situation but not knowing what else to do.

"What in Thor's name are you doing?" He heard from above him in a perplexed soft voice,

"Not now. Of all the times that I need you in my head, now is not the ideal one" He said roughly with a weak smile,

"Well now, you can hardly say that I'm in your head when I'm right here can you?"

Jerking his head up, Reiner saw the now tall faint outline of his lost friend. His regret. His failure. Looking up to those hazel eyes, he saw Bertholdt sitting with his legs on the edge of the mountain's path, looking at him with concern, that same soft smile still sketched onto his face as he looked at Reiner.

* * *

He freaked out. He couldn't help it; He was used to hearing his voice but that was just part of the agreement he signed up to when his head became this screwed up. But actually seeing him, not even as he knew him, but as if he had grown, was too much for Reiner to **not** freak out over! As the shock hit him, he felt his fingers weaken and his breathing hasten, he was going to fall, shit he was going to fall and die an-

The vision pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Alright well obviously you're majorly freaked out, so" The vision stated with a hint of frustration "let's get you back up here" As Reiner felt his muscles screaming as he nearly broke, he suddenly felt a hotter than brimstone grip on his forearm, his strength suddenly returning in them as was able to dig his foot into the rocky cliff face, barely scrambling up. As he lay there, his chest rising and falling like the bubbling of a volcano, cold sweat running down his forehead, he slammed his eyes shut, prayin

* * *

g to every God he could remember that what he had seen wasn't a spirit, praying it wasn't Bertholdt's ghost, he should've moved on, he should've reache-

"Oh relax, I'm not actually here"

"What?"

"I. AM. DEAD. AFTERLIFE. THE WHOLE DEAL. Gods, did your brains go even further after I left?" Came the voice in a playful tone

Reiner's mind stumbled as he reached for the words "Then uhm… How am I, ah, you know? Seeing you right now?"

The shimmering outline of the boy, last seen in Reiner's draped jacket, now in the uniform that Reiner himself was wearing, simply shrugged his shoulders

"Well you're imagining me for a start but," looking curiously down at his hands, turning them experimentally "But I've got no clue why I'm like this. Guess you needed a helping hand and I came to mind, but that boy couldn't help you, so you let me grow up" His shoulders rising again as he let out a soft chuckle "It would've been nice if I could've really lived to be this big; I mean, I always figured I was tall but this is crazy!". The excitement dying from his voice, instead now filling with melancholy thought "But… I guess it just wasn't in the bones for me eh?"

Reiner, his form now hunched over as he sat up, tears rolling down his face "I've missed you man… I am so sorry… We're both so sor-" his voice cutting off as his throat began to close up. He felt that blazing heat again, except this time encompassing his whole body. Cracking his eyes open a fraction, he saw the pale apparition had now put its arms around him

"Now you listen to me. I have to go soon, but you are to remember one damn thing. I know that I wasn't this confident in life but now that I'm gone I guess things changed but you need to get this into that head of yours: What happened to me wasn't your fault. I was the one who started to like the killing. That was on me, not you. And I died from the weather, you couldn't have done anything more." The boy's eyes now seeming to shimmer somewhat more than the rest of him as his voice cracked with a hint of that same melancholy "So unless you're intending to try and fight the clouds, I'd try to let that go. We'll see each other again; But you had better be damn old and grey when you get here or I will throw you back down. Personally."

"Okay…" Reiner said, his eyes still puffy but the tears had slowed their tide "I'll try..."

The shimmering now beginning to dissipate, he heard one final broken line of thought from it

"Oh and Reiner? Do me a favour, and kill as many of the bastards who stole our childhood as you can before you join me okay?"

As the light left, seeing the road ahead of him now empty, the blue and pink skyline now stretched out before him for miles and miles, he picked himself up, eyes blurred but now fixed onto the path before him. Not a thin, red, dangerous path; but a firm, safe and gentle one.


	24. Chapter 24- Stone

Chapter 24 – Reiner (Arc 5)

In the end, when Reiner had reached the mines, it turns out that they had had a Quaken that wasn't quite suited to mine work, and as such was in line to be shipped back to its homeland. But before the man could finish his next sentence, Reiner cut in, asking if he could see it first. The Miner standing somewhat shocked and confused, decided that he should let the boy through; he was military after all, defending the homeland and all that.

* * *

As Reiner walked into the brazier lit underground cavern, the flickering light cascading over the rough walls, he knew that he had made the right decision about his dragon. There she was. A Titan Wing Catastrophic Quaken.

As his eyes absorbed every drop of the dragon's hazel and emerald hide, he turned to the chief of the northern mountain mines,

"Hey, why in Thor's name is she unsuited to work? Look at the size of her! She'd be able to do the work of at least 20 Gronckles alone!"

The smaller man ran his hand over his coal covered beard, his small eyes looking near glassed over, simply putting it that "My boy, I know that you've learnt all about dragons in that school of yours," Pointing to the insignia on his shoulder before pointing to the dragons "So why don't you tell me?" He finished with a downward glance.

Eyes now scouring over the dragon, hunting for flaws, searching for imperfections, looking for any reason that she couldn't work. His brain now jarring in frustration, he muttered quietly to himself

"No damn it, I don't…"

Not expecting the shorter to hear him, he was surprised when the Miner ordered him to look at her eyes and then. Then he understood.

He'd seen a lot of dragons through his time. Some friendly and approachable, some threatened and scared. And it was with all of these memories in his head that he finally saw why he couldn't let her be kept here. He'd seen that specific gaze before. It didn't belong here, it was trapped. His mind now seeing rather than looking, the small erratic twitches in her wings as she craved to spread them in the sky, eyes agitated as they looked for the world beyond the rock walls around her.

Turning once more to the man, he made an offer: If he could bring the dragon to ease and bond with her, the miner let him buy her the next moment. Seeing no issue with the deal before him, and not thinking of himself as a scrooge, he deftly put out a palm, immediately regretting it as he felt the boy's jubilation through his iron grip.

He watched the soldier slide down into the pitted area in which the Quaken was being stabled for now, noting how the boy's eyes did not fade of excitement when he turned around throwing a thumbs up at the man. His eyebrows raising as he softly scoffed at the boy's confidence; Yes, he thought, she'll like him.

* * *

As Reiner softly approached the towering Titan Wing, he saw it turn its gaze onto him, yellow orbs locked onto his blue. Reiner couldn't feel any hostility there, Huh, he thought to himself, good start, before quickly returning to his situation. He softly spoke to the dragon introducing himself,

"Hey! I'm Reiner, Solider extraordinaire of the 104th" letting himself humble brag for a moment before asking "And how are you this day?" Shit. He thought, as the Dragon's eyes hadn't shifted an inch. Deciding to make a bit of conversation (And possibly do something stupid) He mentioned to the behemoth in front of him "You looked a bit wound up so I wondered if you'd like to go outside?"

As the words left his lips, the once stoic cold eyes lit up with excitement. Whilst Reiner smiled at the development, once he felt the ground beneath his feet shift, his smile remained but a small voice in his head let out a small worried curse. And evidently, a much warranted one as well, given the at mere moments after the offer, the giant, now looking like a yippy pup jumped up from where it stood before plummeting back down. Seeing this all moments before it happened, he braced for the impact as he saw the grass coloured hide flick into the air before it's colossal feet hit the solid rock again.

Laughing as he lifted himself from his stance, he turned to see the old man now lying deftly on his back, staring at him with irritation that he had just become a human play toy, but also warmth as he saw the life returning to the dragon. Reiner turned to see the Quaken now part it's jaws in its attempt at a smile as well, deciding that there was no time rather than now, he raised his hand softly to the dragon's snout, looking the other direction out of common respect, just like he'd been taught.

As he felt the rough hide make contact with his palm, his eyes broke into satisfaction and happiness as they saw the old man's smile as well, and he knew he imagined it, but it almost felt as if Bertholdt was looking at him, smiling as well. Returning his eyes back to the dragon, it's dazzling green and brown hide resonating with his heart, his memories of that small limbering town, he warmly asked,

"Can I call you Terra?"

In response to her new title, Terra let out a deep rumble of satisfaction, slowly letting her eyelids close before re opening them.

As Terra sat eating the leftover stone from their creaking mine carts, Reiner was placing silver coin upon coin until he had paid well enough for the dragon. Jutting his larger hand out when the old man had raised his hand as a signal that that was all he needed to get by with the dragon, the old man instead opted to softly pat the soldier's hand, much to Reiner's confusion.

"Thank you for helping her. I know that she would've been alright back on the island, but I have a feeling that she'll be able to be great with you. Take care of her for me, for all of us who have grown to be fond of her here in the mine, even if she could be a hell to try and work with." The Miner spoke with the utmost sincerity, Reiner's fist flying to his chest as he saluted in respect of the man who in return simply dipped his head slightly in gratitude.

* * *

Reiner had taken the river path back down the mountain, given that, whilst longer, was the only road that he could fit his new partner on down the mountain, and given that he hadn't quite figured out how he'd ride her yet, this was their only option. As he observed the dragon at his side, he made a mental note to ask that Artlet kid, to try and dig up a saddle design for Quakens from the old libraries, and he didn't care if he had to make it himself over the forge, he'd ride his dragon one day. Eyes now darting up to the dragon's back and seeing that apparition once more, now knowing it to be just his mind, but still connected to it, he put his hand on Terra's flank, feeling the tactile spike beneath his palm and the burning presence on his skin once more. "Thank you Bert. I won't forget you." Walking down that path, his comrade to his left and the river to his right, he felt in his mind a warmth as he had proved his belief that he had held to on faith for years.

He didn't need his armour around him; quickly glancing at the lumbering giant next to him, thoughts spinning back to the 104th squadron. Not when he had allies like these instead.


	25. Chapter 25 - City Boy

Chapter 25 – Jean A1

Jean Kirstein has always lived a comfortable life. In the world of freezing winters, wild dragons and Hunter attacks, Jean has always lived in his cocoon of safety. But as the charcoal of his pencil left the paper of the enlistment form, that bubble of protection was set to shatter. This is the story of Jean Kirstein.

* * *

Jean Kirstein had never known his father. It didn't particularly bother him as he and his mother got on well enough without him, given the money left in the will after he had passed away. They lived rather comfortably in the interior of the city, a luxurious (By Viking terms) house by the southern bank of the Berkian River; it's soft currents becoming commonplace to young Jean's ears. His life began simply enough: working in his mother's shop, running small errands around the district, stacking inventory and taking orders from retired traders for furnishings in their grand homes. It wouldn't be until he reached his 11th birthday that the comfort and certainty that he had known all of his life would come falling down around him like fragile glass.

"Jean!" His mother softly shouted up the stairs "Could you come down here please? There's someone I'd like you to meet!"

Jean grumbled as he let the delicate stick of charcoal that he had been gripping for what seemed like hours from his hands onto the desk as he allowed himself one last glance upon his drawing before moving to tidy himself up for this visitor, whoever they were. His eyes traced the lines he had laboured on for hours on end, their contours and edges jutting and flowing to what would eventually make up the image that constantly harried him throughout his dreams; The Raven Haired Girl. He didn't consider himself artistic, nor hugely creative, but as the son of a wealthy merchant, he had to find some way to pass the time. It was always strange to him, how his eyes have never seen this girl, yet he was still able to draw her perfectly from memory; Fragmented images from countless dreamful nights gone by, coming together like an intricate puzzle to make up the portrait that sat lightly on his oaken desk.

Tearing his eyes away from his work, he lightly paced to the other side of his room, pulling the chain to let out a small burst of water to fill the stone basin by his window. He knew that it was a privilege to have such a thing, as he often saw the other children wading out in the chilling water of the fountains in the square outside his house, just to wash themselves. Running his soft palms through his chestnut hair one final time before bringing himself downstairs to meet this stranger.

The soles of his leather boots flitted softly against the timber of the steps as he made his way down, holding his back straight and his eyes up, making sure to look good and proper. That was the thing about working in the shop; It made him very comfortable being around adults in a formal setting. However, whilst it made it much easier for him to wrap grown businessmen around his finger, he had much more trouble when it came to interacting with people his age. He viewed himself as much more mature than any of the other little brats who his mother forced him to spend time with; time he could be working or tallying up the numbers in the shop. As a result, he tended to get angry when they just wouldn't shut up and listen to him. There had been more than a few occasions when he had to be dragged away from one of the kids by the closest grown up, his knuckles lightly scabbed. But as he ran his soft fingertips over the calloused knuckles, he quickly pushed aside the memory, focusing solely on the large frame of a man who sat at the table in their home.

As Jean drew closer, he cleared his throat and wet his lips so that his words didn't stumble as he spoke

"Hello Mister, how are you? I hope that my ma has be-"

His words trailed off as the hulking frame slowly shifted towards him, a dark grey beard gleaming in the oil light with rich ointments, a silver tooth glinting the same and a frosted over spectre like eye that seemed to bore into his very soul. He felt his throat dry up as the man slowly dipped his face closer to the ground, until his eye met the frightened quivering pupils of Jean's. Jean could feel himself shake with anxiety as the man loomed over him in height, the dull, hidden, but noticeable to the trained eye, sheen of a sheathed knife resting at his waist. His knees began to unnoticeably quiver as the dark iris of the man before him continued to bore into him. That's it, Jean, I have to get a way, some lame excuse will, just anything so that I ca-

Deep thundering laughter batted away the frightful thoughts from Jean's mind as the man threw his head back, chest heaving as he took in more air to sustain his chuckle until it gradually died down to a soft sigh as the man sat down.

"SORRY ABOUT THAT WEE MAN!" His voice beat through the air like a drum "IT'S JUST THAT YOUR MOTHER HERE TOLD ME THAT IT'D BE A LAUGH TO TRY AND GIVE YA A WEE SCARE! NAME'S FARIT AND IT'S NICE TO MEET YE!"


	26. Chapter 26- Scales of a Dragon

Chapter 26 – Jean A2

Jean's ears cringed as he resisted the impulse to cover them as he shook the man's bear like paws. His eyes flitted to his mother, both with irritation at the prank and questioning as to why he was speaking so loud. The woman quickly lifted her fingers to her ears, oh. Darting back to the man, he could see the flesh of his ears had been ripped off, leaving only a torn up mess; He knew that he shouldn't stare, but he couldn't help it, it was just so intriguing; What had happened to this man to damage his body so?

"I see you noticed the ear" Came a much softer tone than the one that had filled the room moments before "Sorry if I spoke a bit loud, sometimes lose track of it ya see"

He quickly set his shoulders to face Jean head on

"I know that look, you're after knowing what happened aye?"

Jean's mouth was slightly parted as his head slowly dipped into a nod, causing the man to spin his tale

"Well there ain't much to it lad;" He stated bluntly "There was a fight in a tavern, went to break it up, things got rough and I lost me eye, a tooth and the ear. Pretty much the whole story."

The boy's eyebrows raised in curiosity, the question bit at him until the words left his tongue,

"Why'd you go to break it up? A fight that rough, you should've steered clear from, much safer"

A small huff of air left the man before he opened his mouth but froze, as if re considering his actions. Closing it once more, he quickly moved his arm to the sleeve of his tunic; Grabbing the cuff, he slowly rolled it up, his sleeve rising as Jean's jaw dropped at the image on the skin. The Green Scales. The boy couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes as they quickly met the older man's, seeking approval for a closer look. As Farit dipped his head, he spoke quietly, but with the pride of a Grizzly Bear,

"Because I'm a soldier of Peace and Order. When this mark was put on my skin, I, alongside all of our order was given authority from the Chief himself to fight chaos wherever it may be in these walls; Ensure the laws of the land are upheld like the pillars of the Great all itself, the peace held like sand in our palms, it's preservation in our hands and most importantly" As Jean's hand reached to touched the mark "We are to protect the people. We have to guide them. Help them. Teach them."

The boy couldn't help but hold his excitement in as Farit spoke the last line of his seemingly rehearsed speech,

"That, is what it means to be a Scale. And from what I hear from your mother here, that could be you in the future."

Jean froze up as the words hit him. He had always had a secret want to be a Scale, but his mother needed him here in the shop, so he gave up on the dream, never letting her know, lest she be upset at losing him. Or so he thought.

He turned to his mother "How did you know?" he asked, still stunned.

She smiled as she answered, "Oh please my boy, I was the one who taught you to notice the look in someone's eye when they're interested in a product in the shop, you think I never saw that same fire in yours's every time we were near the Scales Hall?"

"But… Don't you need me to help around here? I mean with all the heavy barrels and crates and -"

"Jean boy" His mother's voice calm and soft as she spoke "I will be fine here. I can hire a hand or two if I struggle later on" A slight pause filled the air. "But I won't have you shackle yourself to this place if the Scales is your passion. The reason I brought Farit here over, is that he's now a recruitment officer for the Military and he's promised, if you can get into the top ten of your year, he'll guarantee you a position"

The silence filled the room with greater weight as Jean contemplated, could he really leave his mother all alone here? Yes, it was his dream to bear the mark of the Scales and bring order to the city he called home, wealth to the home he called his, happiness to his mother but…

"Jean." Farit's gruff voice cutting through the silence. "I know this is a difficult decision to make, and it is not without danger. The life of Military training is hard. Brutal. Unrelenting. But if you can withstand it, I believe you have the potential to be a great Scale."

The uncertainty in his eyes now clearing as determination filled them, a smug smirk growing on his face.

"When do we start?"

* * *

2 YEARS LATER

As Jean sat on the edge of his bunk in the training grounds, the first day of training already hitting him straight in the face (Well, it had actually been Drillmaster Shadis Helmet but he tried not to focus on that right now) he tenderly ran his hand over Dante's soft crimson wings, still surprised they let him bring his dragon to the bunkhouse. Even if it was only for a while before he had to be returned to the stables, he still cherished it. The dragon wasn't small enough to be a Tiny tooth, nor quite a Short Wing, leaving his companion to be around the size of a sheep as he curled up in his lap. He remembered back to how he had gotten his dragon, the little baby Monstrous Nightmare he would come to call his best friend.

The bustling street as Farit led him through the market place to the local hatchery.

The smell of smoked wood hitting him as they walked down the torch lit tunnel.

The rough texture of the Nightmare's egg shell under his soft palms.

Days and nights spent sat waiting beside the fire pit, the egg nestled in it's embers.

The first moment they met eyes.

The first moment that the hatchling became his Dante.

It was a strange name, and he knew it, but he had always remembered a story his mother used to tell him of a brave knight who led his people to victory against the monsters, his horse named Dante. And whilst yes, he was wrong to think that the dragon would just be a tool for him to use, he had since come to love and respect Dante as a separate person. Whilst, the outbursts of angry self-ignition were irritating, he wouldn't trade it for anything else.

As the evening bell tolled throughout the air, he quickly walked to the stables, resting Dante in the stony nest he had made, watching as the Nightmare shortly lit himself aflame to make the sleeping spot a bit cosier for himself. As the dragon closed its eyes, Jean turned and returned to his bunk, eyes closed as he let sleep embrace him before he had to get through the first day of training tomorrow.


	27. Chapter 27 - Spar

Chapter 27 – Jean A3

Needless to say, even after weeks and weeks of training in the 104th , whilst his mind was more than willing, Jean's body was forced to limits he didn't even realise existed. His muscles, though strong from working in the inventory, were still weak in the face of these brutal training workouts. His ego wasn't entirely shattered though, for none of the other cadets seemed to be handling it well at all. Then again, the only ones assigned to work with him were the 'Potato Girl', 'Cue ball', Wagner, Mina and that Marco kid. That guy was… Odd… to him. He was doing the exact same thing as the rest of the squadron, and wasn't in any less pain or exhaustion than them but still refused to stop smiling and telling little soft jokes that made the group break down from their drill in laughter from time to time.

As he looked around, he knew that there were other units, better ones, like the ones with Mikasa or that big Reiner guy in them. He found himself incredibly attracted to the girl, but he knew that it was only because she was so similar to the Raven Haired Girl that she fascinated him. Not to say that he didn't think she was beautiful, he just came to realise that it was only a passing thing. Still didn't stop him from trying to be with her as much as possible; despite it having earnt him more than a couple of punches to the nose from her over protective brother, Eren and from the lady himself. After a few weeks of training he felt something tell him he should probably pull back on it, but something even greater, his ego, told him that she was just playing hard to get.

It wasn't until he was sitting on the rocks by the edge of the training ground, lazily drifting his fingertips in the cold sea's water after an intense hand to hand combat session with Marco that that would change at all. As his thoughts drifted like the pebbles in the water in front of him, he let his mind wander around and review the memories of the training just gone by.

* * *

The cold head of the axe hooked around Jean's forearm as Marco shifted his weight forward, forcing the other to tumble to the ground. Both swiftly leapt back up, like spring loaded crossbows, before slowly circling each other in the square once more. It was a perfectly friendly and light spar between the two, focusing solely on technique rather than brutality, but Jean still couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of annoyance as his opponent's bright smile, even now reduced to a small grin, still refused fade. Jean leapt forward once more, feinting twice with his blades, forcing Marco to step back, the handles of his own weapons catching the nook of Jeans; Brown eyes met as Marco's softly squinted a bemusement as he pulled Jean forward once more to the ground, this time, throwing his entire body weight on top of his back

"I'd make that 7 to 2 now Jen, are you sure you want another round?" Marco asked coyly, the satisfaction in his voice washed over with a wave of concern.

Pinned to the stone surface, there was very little Jean could do but grunt and humph his responses as a very distinct tone of denial appeared.

"So you want to go again?" Marco queried,

"Mhm" Came the positive reply.

Marco seemed to sighed as he took a moment to look around them, the entire square was empty, with everyone else already having gone to relax for the evening. Well, all except Jean and himself. He had been confused when Jean first came to him and asked him to be his out of class sparring partner, what with Jean already being ranked the highest amongst the class. But after Jena explained his goal of being the best in the military police so he could be rich, he guessed it made sense and in all honesty, he had grown quite fond of Jean, so he saw no issue in taking an extra hour or two out of his day to help him out.

Feeling the insistent squirming beneath his knee as Jean tried to being attention back to himself, Marco let out a small life, an idea obviously implanting itself in his head

"Hey Jean?"

"Mm?"

"I've got an idea; why don't you try get out of this yourself? I'll push back but not too much" Marco knew that he himself was a powerful warrior, but he preferred to keep it back as much as he could, as he didn't like fighting but knew that sometimes it had to be done. "How about it?"

"…"

"Jeeeean? I won't do anything until I get an answer"

"… mm" Came the affirmative grunt that Marco had come to associate with 'Bring it' from Jean.

Marco felt the tough sinew that had built up in Jean's back from training shift as attempted bring himself upright through brute force; But Marco himself was much fonder of skill over strength and with one well-placed shift in his core muscles, Marco was able to shut down Jean's rebellious push as he flopped back to the ground. This dance went on over and over again until finally, Jean reached a lazy arm out to tap against Marco's leg, signalling his acceptance of defeat.

"Wow. Now that's a sight I'll never get tired of." Slowly shifting his mass into a lighter position "But still… the deal was, I can't let you go until you get me off"

"Marco… I swear to Thor I will throw you into the sea when I get out." Jean muttered under his breath but evidently not quite quiet enough for Marco's sharp ears,

"Alright Alright, I'll let you go on one condition. Nothing bad or tiring or anything like that."

Jean paused apprehensively before stating "Okay, name your price."

"What in Loki's name is happening to you with Mikasa?"

Jean felt his stomach clench as the words left his friend's lips, what did he mean by that? He thought, he probably doesn't mean that, there's no way he'd kn-

"Jean." Came the calm but solid voice "If you don't want to tell me it's fine, but I would like to know if I can. You've been putting yourself in a lot of trouble for her and I just want to know why and if she's safe for you."

The brown haired boy's eyes flared at the words as his legs tensed upwards, catching Marco off guard, allowing him to break from underneath him, twisting the grip, pinning Marco to the ground by the wrists

"What the Hel does it matter to you! I can do what I want and you don't get to decide what is and isn't safe for me!"

"Jean, calm down, I was ju- "

"No Marco! I swear, you have no idea what it's like to be me! Why the hell do you always act like you care so much?!"

"Jean…"

His anger seemed to be caught in a hangman's noose as he realised what he was doing and saw the fear in his friend's eyes beneath and the small droplets of angry tears that dripped from his own eyes. His hands trembled as they let go of the boy's wrist and in moments, even before his mind had time to register it, the freed hands had gone around Jean's neck and pulled him close to the boy on the ground.

"I'm sorry I pushed you on that… I didn't realise that was such a spot for you… Are you okay?"

"Mm"

Marco felt a small grin on his face as the familiar response came from Jean.

But before he let Jean see it, he quickly pressed a hand against the boy's chest, putting some small distance between them for a moment

"But Jean, you aren't to treat me like that again okay? If we're going to be friends like this, you have to use your words above your fists"

"… Okay… I'm sorry about what I did" Jean's small voice pushed out

Pulling him back in, Marco softly spoke "It's alright, you didn't realise your anger, but now you do, you can keep it in check right?"

"Mm"

"Now go wash up" Marco ordered" we have been sparring for the last hour or so and I wouldn't doubt that any dragon in a 3 days' ride can smell how bad we are right now"

The warm laugh filled jean's lungs as he broke himself off from the embrace, wiping the tears before standing up on his feet and turning to walk out of the Squares chained entrance. As his feet took him forward, he felt his head turn to Marco once more

"And to answer your question by the way, she reminds me of someone important to me. But I'll be sure to not do any more stupid crap because of it. Promise."

Marco's eyes lit up with warmth as he dipped his head slightly as Jean left the arena and walked to the shore, bringing him back to the current movement. Realising the sun was on the verge of dipping, he quickly ran back to his bunk, his head landing on the pillow as the night bell tolled throughout the training grounds.


	28. Chapter 28 - Soldier Boy

Chapter 28 – Jean A4

The rest of Jean's first year went gradually smoother and smoother, the training became easier as his body and mind sharpened to an axe's edge, his confrontations with Eren were dialled down to next to none as Marco's words of support drifting thorough his head every time Eren grabbed at his shirt, screaming at his face; And more often than not, he was able to pull himself away from the boy, telling himself that it wasn't worth. Whilst, yes, there were exceptions to this, such as when Eren had made some stray comment not meant for Jean's ears, saying how weird Jean and Marco's friendship was (Surprisingly, this one time, Mikasa had taken his side and dragged Eren off and gave Jean a small 'sorry' which, from her, was a formal, court like apology) he generally found himself on a more successful path; and when his results from his final hand to hand combat certification came through, he spent a full hour raving about it to Marco, both of their scores placing them in the top ten; the path to the Scales of Foresti now becoming more and more solid.

Jean had actually ended up deciding that, whilst the axes well effective, they didn't really suit his style of combat, which was further reinforced when his Drillmaster Shadis suggested a short sword would make him, in his words "less likely to be fodder for the Hunter's eels". Whilst he was still somewhat taken aback by the reasoning, he couldn't deny the results felt more natural. As a result, when he entered his second year and began his DFG training, he soared in comparison to himself at the beginning of first year, the sword and shield (That he later picked up, it's light metal and wooden surface making it operable with dragon fire gear) becoming a natural extension of himself as his agility and confidence grew alongside his skill.

* * *

Whilst during the hours of scheduled training, Jean trained as hard as his body would physically let him, and sometimes even further, during his downtime he often found himself relaxing in the stables with his now Short Wing Dante. It was a nice bit of isolation from the frantic life that was pushed onto him, and having Dante to talk to about his day, his life and his thoughts was really nice to have.

That particular day, as Jean sat against the tough red hide of his Nightmare, he had allowed his breaths to come in sync with Dante's, so when he felt the sudden tense in the Dragon's chest, he darted up, ready to fight the danger his dragon sensed. Drawing his sword, he tried to figure out how he'd take out the threat, and if it was a Hunter, how he'd warn the others, oh Thor, would he have to defend the entire stables by himself? As he swung his blade around the corner, he had least expected of all things, a wild dragon, a hunter, anything but the now terrified eyes of Marco Bott as he swung backwards to avoid the blade.

"JEAN?! What the Hel?!" He demanded in shock,

Jean fumbled for the words, his words becoming increasingly jumbled as he spoke "Shit… Marco I'm so sorry, my dragon was spooked and I panicked and thought it was a Hunter and"

"Well" Marco stated "I guess that's alright" before letting out a tired sigh, "but seriously yell out or something next time, not everyone in the Corps has my razor sharp reflexes" giving a joking wink.

Jean chuckled "Yeah… I really should… Anyways, what are you doing out here?"

"In all honesty, I was just looking for you, I wanted to talk to you" Jean's breath hitched, Marco, noting the look on his face "oh it's nothing important, I was just really bored and wondered how you were, and when I couldn't find you in the cabin I got worried is all"

Jean ran a hand through his hair as he contemplated; could he really let Marco in with him and Dante? He always knew his dragon had a bit of a possessive streak so he didn't know how he'd react to Marco, given their bond.

"Listen, Marco…" Jean turned, his chest heavy with the thought of leaving his friend alone, but as he turned, he caught those eyes. Those damn eyes. So full of wonder and hope… Crap… How can he say no to those?

"Uh, Jean? Hello? Midgard to Jean? You there?"

"Yeah" Jean stuttered "Sorry, just got caught up in thought is all"

"Oh it's alright," Marco plainly spoke, "Now," he posed "What was it you were going to say?"

"Uhm... Do you want to meet my Dragon?" He hesitantly asked, worried about the sting of rejection that might still come, but his fear was soothed as Marco stepped forward, his eyes alight with excitement at the thought of finally meeting Jean's closest (Non-Human) friend.


	29. Chapter 29 - Achievement

Chapter 29 – Jean A5

In all honesty, Jean hadn't expected the meeting to go so well. He had fully expected Dante to light himself on fire and bare his teeth at the new comer who was so close to his raiser. And yet, almost the exact opposite happened. As Marco had walked into the room he had made eye contact with the dragon who had at first stared at him, unsure of what to make about him, before Marco dipped his head in a bow. 'Huh.' Jean thought 'I always thought you had to do the hand on snout routine'. But as Marco kept his head bent, he saw Dante's snout dipping as well, the two being equals in mere moments of meeting. Absolutely brilliant. The two appeared to have complete respect and formality for each, neither wishing to breach the connection. Well. That's how Jean saw it. Evidently, he had seen it wrong.

Seconds after the bow had been sealed, Marco threw himself onto Dante's snout, his arms wrapping around the jaw, giving a soft… hug? Marco threw himself onto a Monstrous Nightmare? A dragon that can quite literally light itself on fire? A completely tame on but still… As the two played in the stone stable that was Dante's home, Jean made a conclusion; He'd never fully understand either of these two, but gods dammit if he didn't love and care for them both with all he had.

* * *

As the bonds between the three grew stronger, the day of their final second year examination was drawing closer and closer. They'd have to have mastered the Dragon Fire Gear with their weapon in order to pass, capable of clearing a course that not even the most agile dragon can complete. The day drew closer and closer until it was even closer than Jean's toes to the starting platform of the examination course he now stood on. As Jean stood on that edge, he passed a deep inhale and exhale through him, allowing his body to perfectly align with the machinery that surrounded him. Every firing of a minute pin in his gear would feel as plain to him as a hand on the shoulder. Every tiny shift in weight in his sword would be completely in his control.

His eyes flitted around him, through the chains of the testing grounds, he could see both Dante and Marco, along with his other squad mates like Sasha (Still 'Potato Girl' in his mind though) and Connie. All of them were cheering as he took one more breath and allowed himself to fall.

The pull of the earth on his body was strong and in all honesty, exhilarating, but as he drew close to the ground, he felt a confident digit pull the release trigger on the hilt of his sword as he fired the first shot of many, losing himself in the pace of the course, wind blowing through his hair like the mane of a horse in full gallop until he finally felt his feet his solid ground once more. He was so shocked as he landed that he had to check if had missed some huge part of the course, but no. He had done it. He'd gotten a fast enough time to put him into the top ten.

* * *

That night was full of celebration for all of them; Most of them in his squad go in the top ten as well, Sasha, Connie, Marco and, most surprising, himself. As he and his squad mates drank the hours away, Jean felt something that he had longed to feel for years and years. True Accomplishment.

But the real challenge was to come the next day. For the next day, the 104th trainees began their journeys to find their dragons. He was one of the lucky ones, as he already had Dante, who was now a full Broad Wing Monstrous Nightmare. No… For him, the great challenge would be being without Marco. Jean had never thought of their relationship as necessary to him, but being without him, even if only for a few days would be his first big test… He had come to rely on him so much, and Marco on him the same way. So as Marco stood, a sack strapped to his back and a goofy smile on his face, Jean couldn't help but feel some selfish sadness alongside his pride about Marco's adventures to come.

"So you know which kind you're going for right?" Jean poised, already knowing the answer

" Well I'm not going looking for any specific dragon, more, I'm looking for a dragon that I could fight beside, who I'd fight for and who'd fight for me" Pausing a moment, he looked at the boy in front of him "Kind of like you" A soft smile playing at his lips and he started to feel his eyes wetting.

Jean couldn't help the small tear that rolled down his cheek, pride be damned, he stepped forward to Marco, throwing his arms around him and pulling him so tight that he couldn't move, feeling the same being thrown around him. They stood like this for what seemed like an eternity,

"You come back to me you hear? Don't do anything stupid." Jean whispered

Marco laughed fully "Oh Thor, this must be a sad day, you telling me to be careful; feels like it's the wrong way around!"

Jean felt the smirk spread across his face as he listened to the boy's laughter which was followed by his promise and plead,

"I swear I'll come back to you" Marco pledged, before pulling his face away and looking into Jean's eyes "Promise you'll wait for me."

Unable to break the gaze, Jean reached around his own neck, pulling off the worn leather necklace that Marco had given him all those years ago, he set about taking Marco wrist and wrapping it around it.

"There" Jean stated "now I'll have to wait for you if I ever want that back eh? And I have grown rather fond of it" He said with a smirk

Running his thumb over the pendant, Marco looked back up at Jean "Aye, that you will" He spoke, the smile never once leaving his face as he set off down the path, until he was nothing but a blip in the horizon.

As Jean stood at the path's beginning, the tears welling in his eyes once more, he felt Dante's tail press to his back gently, just enough to show his rider that his dragon was still there to support him. Jean's smile wasn't without struggle as whilst he was happy with Marco's adventure, he couldn't help but worry over him. But for Jean, with his dragon, right in this moment, he knew that he'd be alright, and from here on out, it was only going to get better.


End file.
